Us After This
by Shimegami-chan
Summary: Rockman.EXE is corrupted by a virus! An accident brings him and Netto back together, but is it a blessing - or a curse?
1. Darkness Bloom

Rockman.EXE is not mine. Don't sue.   
  
________________________  
  
  
Us After This  
_~by Shimegami-chan_  
http://www.shimegami.com/ichijouji  
  
A/N: Please excuse any minor mistakes and the clashing between the EXE anime and Battle Network. :)  
  
________________________  
  
  
  
_Beep. Beep. Beep._   
  
The sounds of the heart monitor were erratic and strained, as though its owner could not decide whether to breathe. His mother knelt by his side; his best friend solemn by the headboard. His father, looking grim, was plugged into a Net terminal beside the bed.   
  
The middle-aged man held a PET in his shaking hands, and upon its screen a similar scene was being enacted like ghostly deja vu. A young man--a boy, really--lay prone on the blue-block floors of the Net. A girl in a pink jumpsuit held his hand, crying, as a crowd of others looked silently on.   
  
Inside the PET, a man in a labcoat ran small devices along the length on the unconscious boy's body as the child convulsed. Eventually the bigger Navi stepped away from the boy and turned to stare out of the screen. "I'm sorry, Hikari-san. It seems he's been infected with some sort of virus. It's like none I've seen before."   
  
"You can't repair it?" Yuuichirou rasped, his throat dry. "Or isolate it?"   
  
The Navi was hesitant. "It cannot be repaired. I can isolate it for a time. It might give him a while longer, but at risk to him being unconscious."   
  
"Do it."   
  
The doctor's Navi nodded and knelt beside the prone boy again, speaking to Yuuchirou over his shoulder. "The virus has infected the executable file; which, as you know is absolutely essential to his survival. His program has been frozen--the data is still there, for the moment, but the executable is so badly damagaed that it might never run again. I suggest you backup his data."   
  
"It's backed up. That's not my concern and you know it, Emdee." Yuuichirou could barely force the words from his mouth. Rockman's program was backed up, to be certain, but the fact still remained that if Rockman's main data was destroyed, the lifelink he had to Netto would be severed.   
  
Though the child in the hospital had calmed and quieted, the boy inside the PET was groaning, his face contorted in agony. "Netto-kun..."   
  
Yuuichirou turned his face away, unable to observe the boy that had once been his son. "Emdee," he said decidedly, "Isolate the virus. Give me more time."   
  
Unconscious on the hospital bed, Hikari Netto erupted into screams.   
  
  
~*~*~*~*~   
  
  
The scientist had not slept in days.   
  
His office was a veritable mess of wires and disks, and he was yet again buried in it alone. Meiru was with Netto at the hospital. His wife, Haruka was home crying again.   
  
_This is all my fault._   
  
"You are not to be faulted for trying to save your son," Emdee admonished as though reading his mind.  
  
"I can be blamed in a dozen ways," Yuucichirou replied bitterly, entering another string of code into the computer. "And regardless, I shall be to blame if they cannot be saved, since I'm the only one who can do it. If this virus destroys Rockman, Netto will die. What good are those medical doctors when they don't even know the cause? How could I explain that my son perished because his Navi was deleted?"   
  
He typed in more code. "If I could just finish this program, I could separate Rockman's data from the virus and store the data in another vessel where the virus can't reach. Is your protection still holding it at bay?"   
  
"I assure you that I'm doing all I can."   
  
The phone rang, and Yuuichirou answered it with his left hand. "Hikari here."   
  
"Hikari-san, this is Densan City Hospital. We'd like you to come down here to talk about your son."   
  
"I'm coming," he said reluctantly, saving his work and hanging up the phone. "Emdee, move the transfer program to my PET. I'll finish the program tonight for certain."   
  
He took a sip of caf and disconnected the wires before hurrying to the door. "Wait for me, Netto. Just hold on a little longer."   
  
  
*~*~*~*~   
  
  
"An implant?"   
  
The medical doctor's face was solemn. "He went into cardiac arrest three times during the night. We installed a small computer in his chest, and it is directly connected with his neurological system. The program in the computer will keep his heart beating and his lungs breathing where we cannot. We're running tests as quickly as we can to figure out just what is wrong with him."   
  
Yuuichirou remained expressionless, but his heart was in his shoes. _Cardiac arrest...? _It seemed like such an abnormal experience for his son to be going through. Netto, lying on the bed, was silent and still.   
  
"He still hasn't woken from the coma," the medical doctor said apologetically. "However, with the computer inside his body, we were able to have our Navis directly access his systems. They may be able to determine the problem more quickly than our research could."   
  
Yuuichirou nodded. "I understand."   
  
But he didn't. The only thought in his mind was, _I'm going to lose them both._   
  
  
  
  
~to be continued... 


	2. Iris

Rockman.EXE is not mine. Don't sue.   
  
________________________  
  
  
Us After This  
Chapter 2  
_~by Shimegami-chan_  
http://www.shimegami.com/ichijouji  
  
A/N: Please excuse any minor mistakes and the clashing between the EXE anime and Battle Network. :) I finished the game today; which makes writing this infinitely easier. Yatta!   
  
________________________  
  
  
  
Roll paced nervously around Dr. Hikari's computer systems, wondering when the programmer would come back. Rockman had fallen silent long ago; his systems completely frozen, not moving an inch. Even Gutsman looked forlorn as he crouched by Rockman's side.   
  
Nearby, Emdee was monitoring the virus' progress as best he could. "I certainly hope Hikari-san finishes at the hospital soon. I fear my barriers won't last much longer."   
  
"What else is there to be done?" Roll asked slowly. She didn't quite understand what the doctor was trying to do, only that he'd save Rockman. And Netto.   
  
"He's creating a transfer program," Emdee explained. "It extracts Rockman's data out of his Navi program, and transfers it to another source. However, since a Navi is a complicated program--and this Navi the most complicated of all--the data would have to be stored in a compressed file. Hikari-san needs a vessel to hold the data after it is extracted, since it will no longer be compressed."   
  
Roll looked at the transfer program, a little drone in a ball shape floating back and forth, and questioned, "Why not just keep it in his PET?"   
  
"He could. Once tranferring the data to the PET, however, a new program would need to be created to hold it--a Navi needs its personality, physical attributes, mental capabilities, and strength directly linked to its program. That would take time. In case there is an emergency, the transfer program can be used to transfer Rockman's data to the PET. However, although the basic functions of the code have been input, the transfer program is not quite completed, due to constant interruptions."   
  
"But...he'll be saved?"   
  
"Yes. We're is trying to create a replacement file to--a moment, please, Roll-chan. Yes, Hikari-san?"   
  
Dr. Hikari's face was troubled on the screen above them. "Emdee, Netto's had a computer implanted in his body to regulate his breathing and heartbeat. I want you to go in and speak to the Navis in the computer and gather as much information as possible. I'm plugging you into Netto's monitors now."   
  
"Yes, I'll do so." Emdee looked at Roll and Gutsman. "Keep an eye on him. If anything changes--anything--tell Hikari-san."   
  
Roll nodded as the other Navi transferred himself out of the PET. She then moved to Rockman's side and picked up his gloved hand, lying limp. "Rockman..."   
  
Gutsman looked mildly jealous, but even he was subdued by the dire nature of the situation. "Gutsu..."   
  
Rockman let out a little rasping noise, barely noticible.   
  
Roll froze. "What did he just...?" She leaned closer until Rockman's lips nearly touched her cheek, but he did not make a sound.   
  
"Tell the doctor, de gutsu," Gutsman pronounced with surprising finality.   
  
Roll directed her voice toward the sky. "Hikari-san! Hikari-san!"   
  
No answer came, which scared Roll a little. Gutsman tried. "Hikari-san, de gutsu!"   
  
Roll detected an open connection--they were still plugged into Netto's computer systems. So where was the doctor? He wouldn't have strayed far from his PET, she knew, knowing what important things it contained. "Go get Emdee," Roll told Gutsman, kneeling by Rockman's side.   
  
"Right, de--" He stood, but as he moved Rockman's green eyes flew open and he loosed a scream. Gutsman jumped back.   
  
Roll held the blue-clad Navi's hand tightly. "Hang on, hang on. We're going to get help."   
  
"The virus," Rockman gasped, clutching her with all his strength. "It's gotten through the confinement--it's corrupting my systems!"   
  
Roll leaned back in shock, tilting her face to the screen above. "Hikari-san! Emdee! _Meiru-chan!_"   
  
Rockman's green eyes were hazy with pain. Gutsman lumbered over to the spherical program and guided it to Rockman's side. "Transfer."   
  
"To what?" Roll asked, horrified. They couldn't transfer Rockman without the doctor or his Navi! "Gutsman--" But before she could come up with an argument, the first visible signs of the virus began to show. Data began to pour off of Rockman's jumpsuited body in streams, as though he were melting. His lower limbs began to turn black and fizzle away.   
  
"He's--? Oh God! _Transfer him!_" she screamed, leaping towards the drone. Obeidiently the drone extended a clump of wires from his circular body and touched his hand.   
  
On the Navi's other side, Roll clutched his hand, and Rockman turned his head to face her. "Roll...if this is good-bye..."   
  
"No, no, Rockman!" She forced back tears. "It's not!"   
  
He smiled weakly. "Well then...thank you...and tell Netto-kun that I'm sorry..."   
  
"Rockman..."   
  
Before he could reply his body went slack and his eyes dead. "Transfer complete," the drone sang.   
  
Roll and Gutsman were silent, watching in mesmerized horror as Rockman's program was destroyed by the virus. Roll was in tears; and, as the last scrap of blue data sunk into the floor, Gutsman dropped to his knees and touched the ground where the other Navi had lay. There was nothing left.   
  
Both Navis inspected the drone hestitantly. Gutsman knocked on its metal shell. "Gutsu...?" No answer came. "Take to Emdee," Gutsman said with finality. "Make sure Rockman is inside."   
  
"I...I guess..." Roll said hesitantly. "He'll know what to do...and Hikari-san's PET is plugged into the computer where he is..."   
  
Gutsman nodded and picked up the drone, which had retracted into its spherical shape. The two then left the area and transferred themselves to where they would hopefully find the missing Navi doctor.   
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
The system was full of medical-type Navis: monitoring heartbeat, breathing, brainwaves, hunger levels, circulatory information, and more. "It looks like Netto is in good hands now," Roll breathed.  
  
"Rockman must be alive," Gutsman proclaimed, holding out the metal sphere for her to see. "Netto is alive, so Rockman is alive."   
  
"You're right." Relief flooded through her. "Let's find Emdee, then, and see what we should do with the drone."  
  
"Roll-chan!" It seemed Emdee had found them first. "I said not to leave him! What are you doing here?"   
  
Roll was unable to answer, still trying not to cry. Gutsman pointed at the sphere. "Virus came out, so we put Rockman in there."   
  
"In the program!" Emdee looked troubled. "It was incomplete. Hikari-san!"   
  
"He's not here," Roll choked out. "All of Rockman's data was flowing away, so we started the program."   
  
"I understand," Emdee said, inspecting the drone. "However, this wasn't designed to do more than transfer data, especially such complex data as a Navi. It is best that we contact Hikari-san and find someplace in which to store the data until his program has been re-created."   
  
Suddenly the area in which they stood became abuzz with Navis. Many were running from station to station, others plugging in and out of the main computer system. Roll looked around in horror. "What's happening? Is Netto dying?"   
  
Emdee opened his mouth to speak and logged out before her eyes. A nanosecond later Gutsman was also whisked away; and before she could say a word she was back in Dr. Hikari's PET.   
  
The drone, spinning lazily on its axis, settled gently to the floor where Gutsman had dropped it and went into standby mode. Sensing no other Navis nearby, the programs' autopilot directed it to the nearest outlet where it could proceed with its basic programming:   
  
_Harness the data   
  
Transfer the data   
  
Preserve the data_   
  
Extending a clump of wires, the drone complied.   
  
  
~*~*~   
  
  
The sudden activity brought a half dozen doctors--Dr. Hikari among them, who had been in another room inspecting Netto's medical history--to Netto's room. Dr. Hikari's personal PET lay on the bed; Roll's voice calling from its speakers. The bed was empty.   
  
The patient, sheets tangled around his legs, was fumbling to plug his own PET connector into the nearest jack, and barely succeeded as the doctors entered the room. "_Netto!_" his father cried.   
  
The child, however, was staring brokenly at the terminal's screen, which was blank. He cast a dead-eyed glance at Dr. Hikari. "Papa...he's gone..."   
  
"Netto...?"   
  
"Something's happened to Rock! I can't _feel_ him anymore!"   
  
_Transfer complete._   
  
Gasping, Netto's eyes rolled back and he collapsed.   
  
  
  
  
~to be continued.... 


	3. Trapped

Rockman.EXE is not mine. Don't sue.   
  
________________________  
  
  
Us After This  
Chapter 3  
_~by Shimegami-chan_  
http://www.shimegami.com/ichijouji  
  
A/N: Please excuse any minor mistakes and the clashing between the EXE anime and Battle Network. :) I finished the game today; which makes writing this infinitely easier. Yatta!   
  
________________________  
  
  
  
Netto awoke for the second time that day in his hospital bed.   
  
His brain slightly foggy, the teen stared at the white ceiling, a peculiar feeling of hesitation and dread flowing through him. Something was wrong.   
  
He could not feel.   
  
He could not feel the sheets beneath him or the gentle tickle of the air conditioner on his face. His could not move his arms or legs, and suddenly--horrifyingly--his eyes shifted position to blink confusedly at his surroundings, when he had made no effort to do so.   
  
He tried to speak, and found that no sound would emerge.   
  
_Paralyzed?_   
  
_Am I....dead?_   
  
His body rose of its own volition and struggled into a sitting position. No, not dead. Yet Netto had no control whatsoever over his movements.   
  
Neither could he feel his mouth open to speak, but the sound of his own voice scared him even more badly than waking up as he had. "W-what...?"   
  
Noises drifted down the hallway as a number of doctors hurried into the room, all breathing sighs of relief to see "Netto" awake. Dr. Hikari was not among them.   
  
"Netto-kun?" one of the nurses said gently, touching his arm in a place where Netto could not feel or even see. "How are you feeling now? You gave us quite a scare."   
  
"Netto...-kun?" His voice sounded shaken and disoriented. "What...where am I? Why did you call me that?"   
  
_Get out!_ Netto screamed silently. _Give it back to me!_   
  
The young Netbattler would not even have known that his anguish had gone noticed if not for the widening of the imposter's eyes. "Who's there?"   
  
Two doctors Netto recognized exchanged a look. "Now, Netto, you're going to be a bit disoriented at first, you've only just come out of your coma. It's best that you take it easy."   
  
The teenager's arms flailed in panic. "No! This isn't right...! Where is he? Where's my father!?"   
  
"We're going to call your parents right away," the nurse said gently. "Lie back, why don't you?"   
  
"He's gone...?" Netto could hear sheer terror in "his" voice. "Netto...Netto, where are you!?"   
  
_I'm here. I'm here!_ the trapped boy said, frustrated almost to tears.   
  
Netto's hands flew past his eyes to hold his head, as though the imposter were in agony. "This isn't right! I don't understand what's going on!"   
  
"We might have to sedate him," a female doctor said softly.   
  
"No! Don't do that!" Panic began to rise in both the real Netto and his comandeered voice. "I need to see my father! No..._no,_ I need my PET, quick, where is it!?"   
  
"You're worrying about your Navi at a time like this?"   
  
"Netto" did not reply, instead flung himself out of bed, bringing a wave of nausea to the real Netto's addled brain. Sure enough, his PET lay on a nearby table, and the frail boy hit a button to clear the screensaver.   
  
Windows were open, but the PET's Navi was clearly missing. "Gone..." Netto's voice said miserably. "I don't understand. Then where...?"   
  
"Sedate him," a doctor said, and the nurse stepped forward.   
  
"_No!_" the imposter screamed, bolting past all the doctors with amazing speed.   
  
Desperately, Netto tried to pry back some control from the entity that had taken over his body and was running with it right out of the hospital. _Stop! Stay there!_   
  
The the fake Netto cast a glance over his shoulder, where at least ten doctors had given chase. Netto groaned inwardly. _Fine, then, keep running! Find my dad, if that's what you want! He'll know you're not me in a heartbeat!_   
  
This made "Netto" stop again, clutching his head. "I feel so...sick...what are these emotions?"   
  
_Run!_ Netto commanded, somehow feeling in his heart that the imposter meant him no harm. Obiediently his body began to run again, this time out through the main doors of the hospital and down into a Metroline station nearby. He wasn't wearing shoes, but the real Netto couldn't feel the pain he should have been going through.   
  
Netto could hear his heart pounding in his chest--not one, but two heartbeats, beating in synchronization. A sudden realization hit him very hard. _Rockman...?_   
  
The other presence in his body did not answer, and Netto fell silent, doubting his suspicion. He rose unwillingly and got off the train at the Kagakusho* building, running full-out across the sidewalk and into the building.   
  
Fortunately, the imposter seemed to know exactly where he was going. He headed into an elevator and went up a floor to the office of one Dr. Hikari. The doctor was immersed in a heap of papers and wiring. "Netto" spoke. "Father...?"   
  
"Netto!" Dr. Hikari rose and ran to embrace his son. "You're awake! What are you doing here!?"   
  
"I'm not him! I can't find Netto! He's _gone!_"   
  
"Gone...? But...you ARE Netto. Are you sure you're all right?"   
  
"No, you don't understand! I'm not Netto at all!"   
  
"What...?"  
  
"I'm _Saito!_"   
  
  
  
~to be continued...   
  
_________________________  
A/N: "Hub's" Japanese name is "Saito." Lan/Hub, Netto/Saito (Net/Site). Very cute. :P Kagakusho = SciLabs 


	4. Release

Rockman.EXE is not mine. Don't sue.   
  
________________________  
  
  
Us After This  
Chapter 4  
_~by Shimegami-chan_  
http://www.shimegami.com/ichijouji  
  
A/N: Please excuse any minor mistakes and the clashing between the EXE anime and Battle Network. I hope the story is shaping up the way you wanted it to. :D Please read and review~!   
  
Misty Ishida: Only time will tell... *grin*   
  
Lizeth: Hontou ni!? You have no idea how much I would love that!   
  
Cyber: Wow, I get the angst title? :P All hail Spandex Boy!   
  
TFRiD Queen: Hope you're still reading, thanks for the review!   
  
________________________  
  
  
  
"Saito!?" Dr. Hikari said in shock, stepping forwrad. "Netto...that's impossible. Saito died a long time ago."   
  
"It's true!" the boy protested, and Netto knew that it was. Hikari Saito was the one person he connected with 100%--as his brother, his best friend, and his Navi.   
  
_Rock..._ Netto whispered inside his head, for that was the name he had always called his twin by. Saito did not seem to hear him.   
  
The look on Yuuichirou's face almost made Netto's heart break. Saito was shaking violently, his heart beating fast. "Father...Papa...I don't know how I got in here...but I am...and I can't find Netto-kun anywhere..."   
  
Yuuichirou looked tired and worn, but he smiled. Netto couldn't tell if his father believed him or not. Slowly he stepped forward and gathered "Netto" into a hug. "Why don't you tell me what happened, then...?"   
  
"It's so strange...I always wanted to be able to touch you, but...not like this..."   
  
Dr. Hikari smiled weakly. "Netto...Saito...have a seat. I'm going to try and have Emdee check you over. Can I plug my PET into your heart monitor?"   
  
"Heart monitor?" Saito asked, the word driving into Netto like a stake. _That thing that was attached to my chest when I woke up this morning...?_   
  
"A monitor implanted inside you," Dr. Hikari explained. "It's very small, so you probably didn't notice it. You went into cardiac arrest several times -- the doctors had to link a computer to your brain to keep you breathing and your heart beating."   
  
Netto's stomach turned to ice. He had thought it was some hospital device that he could remove like an electrode. But...by the sounds of his father's explanation...  
  
_It's...permanent?_   
  
"A computer inside him? Maybe it has something to do with how I got out of Netto-kun's PET."   
  
Dr. Hikari scrutinized his son. Netto hoped his father didn't think Saito was as crazy as the misplaced twin was beginning to sound. "I'll have Emdee take a look. According to him, Rockman's data was stripped from his program and placed in a drone that Meiru-chan's Navi was taking care of. However, Meiru and Dekao's Navis have disappeared, so Emdee is having trouble locating Rockman as well."  
  
"But I'm right here..." Saito whispered softly. His father looked strained. "Wait...my program stripped?" he asked as Dr. Hikari plugged into the tiny adaptor on his chest, fear evident in his voice. "Can it be repaired?"   
  
"The transfer wasn't complete," Dr. Hikari replied. Emdee transferred to the computer in Netto's chest. "If the data isn't corrupted, then yes, I can recreate Saito.bat and Rockman. It'll just take time. Emdee, what's going on in there?"   
  
"Something curious," the doctor's Navi answered. "When Netto disconnected your PET this morning I returned immediately to your PC, and I assumed that Roll and Gutsman were with their Operators or inside your PET. But there is no one in here...all the medical Navis have been deactivated, and there's no sign of Roll or Gutsman." He paused for a moment. "Hikari-san, it seems that the minicomputer inside Netto has been locked up. Whether it is a virus or a malfunctioning program I do not know, but it has taken all the Navis offline and appears to have pirated all the system memory. It is very fortunate that Netto is still alive."   
  
_Could a virus have infected me like it did Rock?_ Netto wondered. _But...how exactly is Rockman in my body?_   
  
"If he even is alive!" Saito said, panicked. "Wait, then, if he were to die then I would die too. Isn't that the whole cause of this problem? So he must be _somewhere._"   
  
"I am attempting to penerate its security system," Emdee said nonchalantly. "It is no difficulty at all for such a high-level programmer as myself. Level One security, cleared."   
  
Saito had been holding his breath, but nothing happened. Netto wondered too.   
  
"Level Two security, cleared." Still, neither of the boys felt a change. "It seems to be a very complex program, there are 3 or more security levels. I fear that this is a virus--I will deactivate it to keep it from spreading to your PET."   
  
"That's fine. We can analyze it later."   
  
"Level Three security, cleared."   
  
It was at this point that Netto turned to look at his father, and was surprised to find that his head actually moved. Not expecting the loss of control, Saito twitched in surprise. "What...?"   
  
"Level Four security, cleared."   
  
Saito was stock-still, intently watching the PET plugged into his brother's chest. Netto was equally unmoving.   
  
"Level Five security, cleared." All the blood rushed to Netto's head as he regained full control of his limbs. He fell limp against the back of the chair, disoriented and twitching.   
  
"Netto!" His father dove forward to ensure that Netto didn't tumble out of the chair. "Emdee, contain that virus! Delete it, contain it, just get it out of there!"   
  
"No!" Netto managed to choke out, pulling away. "Emdee, _don't touch that program!_"   
  
"Netto, it could be harmful." Emdee warned.   
  
"It's not, I know it's not! Saito, can you hear me? Rock? Emdee, open the networks. Give that program access to the whole computer."   
  
"You wish me to remove the medical security operations?"   
  
His father looked at him gravely. "Netto, this is dangerous. You don't know what you're thinking. Emdee--"   
  
"--_let it in,_" Netto finished determinedly. "Now."   
  
Emdee looked out of the PET for Dr. Hikari's confirmation.   
  
"I hope you know what you're doing," his father sighed.   
  
"It's my body," Netto replied. "Let him in."   
  
"Hospital security program deactivated."   
  
Netto held his breath for a split second. "Rock...?"   
  
His own voice came back at him. "Netto-kun?"   
  
The Netbattler gave a sigh of relief. "I've so glad you're okay! I was so worried when I saw you'd left my PET!"   
  
"I am too. I woke up and everyone thought I was you..."   
  
"I was there," Netto laughed. "I just couldn't talk."   
  
"Emdee," Dr. Hikari said slowly, "please analyze that program Netto just opened access to, and find out where its connections are."   
  
"Analyzing." Emdee paused. "It is mostly raw data that seems to have been deposited directly into the computer's operating system. The system is wired directly to Netto's neurological pathways, giving it control over Netto's bodily functions."   
  
"Netto, lift your arm," Dr. Hikari instructed.   
  
Netto, still conversing with Rockman out loud, complied.   
  
"It seems that the data was separated from another program, or more than one--I see distinct traces of the Saito.bat application in here."   
  
_"Saito.bat?_"   
  
"Yes. It would seem that young Netto, or Saito, was correct--some of the data here was originally part of Saito.bat, and the rest can be identified as Rockman.exe."   
  
  
  
  
__________________________  
Shi-chan: Saito-kun! Kawaii~!   
  
I'm hoping to stay as close to canon, as possible, but everything about Saito I got from the Battle Network game. Here's hoping he shows up in the anime soon... 


	5. In My Own Words

Rockman.EXE is not mine. Don't sue.   
  
________________________  
  
  
Us After This  
Chapter 5  
_~by Shimegami-chan_  
http://www.shimegami.com/ichijouji  
  
A/N: Please excuse any minor mistakes and the clashing between the EXE anime and Battle Network. I hope the story is shaping up the way you wanted it to. :D Please read and review~!   
  
Quick recap, since I've gone totally AU with this thing. First, as you've noticed...I always use the Japanese names. Netto, Saito, Dekao, etc. For those wondering about Saito, he is yet to appear in the anime--but if you've played the English version of the game you'll recognize him as Hub. There's no point in hiding THIS spoiler, since you're on chapter 5. :P Hub/Saito is Netto's twin brother who died of heart complications at a young age. Dr. Hikari converted his DNA into data, and desynced it by 0.0001% from Netto's. This program became Rockman. At the end of the Battle Network game, Rockman was injured very badly and Netto applied a program called Saito.bat that re-synced their DNA, which created a link between the twins. When Rockman is injured, Netto is injured, and vice-versa. This is why Netto was slowly dying as Rockman was infected by the virus.   
  
I fluctuate a lot between calling him Saito and Rockman--basically I do it at appropriate times. Netto calls his brother Rockman, so that is how he'll refer to him. But when he is being described, often I will interchange between Rockman and Saito when it seems right. :)   
  
I really hope everyone's enjoying the fic. I'm having a ball writing it! Please feel free to email me or click that little button at the bottom of the page that says 'Submit Review.' I'll love you forever. :)   
  
On a final note--if anyone wants to see the EXE anime, I have rather a lot of it. I have AIM, ICQ, and IRC--just drop me an email.   
  
Enjoy!   
  
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"It's not an impossible theory," Dr. Hikari declared, inspecting the readings Emdee was sending to his PET. "Somehow the drone deposited Rockman's data into the heart monitor--probably after Netto pulled the plug on you and Roll. Since the biomedical system was linked to the medulla oblongata in order to control Netto's heartbeat and breathing, many neurological pathways were mapped by the other Navis. Some remaining fragments of Rockman's original program integrated the systems into themselves, and he became more connected to Netto's functions than Netto himself. It's very similar to the cyborg research they did a few years back."   
  
"You mean my program was controlling Netto's body?" Saito asked.   
  
"Until Emdee shut down the security systems, yes. You had a lot of protection programs--it was so surprising that a virus managed to penetrate them. Those scripts were still functional in what was left of your program, so they were transferred to the CPU itself." He paused. "Basically, you have control over Netto's bodily functions, and were blocking Netto's access for a time. Now that the system is disabled and you're aware of what's happening, you only control those systems when you want to."   
  
Saito looked dismayed. "But I don't want that. I wouldn't want to take it from Netto-kun."   
  
"It's okay, Rockman," Netto interrupted. "Papa will rewrite your Navi program just like before--right? Until then, you can stay here with me. You're safe here."   
  
"It's not going to be as easy as you think," his father warned. "You will have another person living in your head. I don't know if he's connected to all of your brain functions, but obviously he's tapped into your speech and movement sections, and could wander into your thoughts at any time and leave you in a bad situation. Saito, can you remap any of the computer systems in there? Make sure your data comes from the CPU backups and not Netto himself. If you start thinking for him you could do some serious damage."   
  
"Ah...all right," Saito said hesitantly. "Maybe once I figure out the computer I can block off that area of activity, to give Netto-kun some privacy."   
  
"Good idea," Dr. Hikari agreed. "Meanwhile, I'll start recreating Rockman's executable file."   
  
"Okay," Netto replied, standing weakly. "When can I--we--go home?"   
  
Dr. Hikari laughed. "Now that Rockman's been transferred, you're not in any danger. The virus should have been destroyed with his Navi body, and now that he's out of danger your body should function like normal again. Rockman's taking up all the CPU functions, for certain, but you shouldn't need the monitor anymore. You should make a perfect recovery--but I suggest that you go back to the hospital and rest for now. Take Emdee with you and keep him there to make sure no one deactivates the monitor or tries to rewire it to work the way it was supposed to. I'll call your mother, if they haven't already contacted her to let her know that you've escaped." Dr. Hikari looked pointedly at Netto's bare feet.   
  
"Sorry, Papa," Netto said sheepishly.   
  
"That's my fault," Saito said a moment later, in an identical voice.   
  
The man shook his head and disconnected the PET. "Just be careful. Here, take my slippers and lab coat at least."   
  
The boys thanked their father one after the other, earning another eyebrow twitch from the doctor. Netto then slid the slippers onto his feet and padded back to the elevator, down to the lobby, and out to the Metroline station. "Netto-kun..."   
  
"Yeah, Rockman?"   
  
"I didn't mean for this to happen, you know."   
  
The conversation continued in whispers throughout the train ride back to Akihara-cho. "It's okay. I don't mind--really."   
  
"But this is all my fault." Saito said, his voice strained. A few of the other Metroline riders gave Netto a puzzled stare. "If it hadn't been for that virus..."   
  
"Relax. It wasn't your fault, and I don't know what I'd do if I lost you--even if I didn't lose myself in the process." His last words were nearly cut off by a giggle from his twin. "I missed you," Netto said softly, when he had control of his speech centres again.   
  
"I missed you too," Saito replied. "Even though such a crazy experience did this to us, it's still amazing--being able to hear your voice in my ears, being able to walk around the outside world...I never dreamed it could ever happen."   
  
"Me either," Netto agreed. "You know, people are staring." He looked pointedly at several other patrons, who averted their eyes.   
  
Saito let out a chuckle. "Netto-kun..."   
  
"That's so surreal, hearing my own voice say that. But I know it's you, because you always talk so softly."   
  
"I do?"   
  
"Yeah." Netto smiled. "Especially when you say 'Netto-kun.' It has a very Rockman ring to it, no matter whose voice is doing the talking."   
  
"Netto-kun..."   
  
"There it is again!" the brunette laughed, stepping off the train. "Well, shall we go back to the hospital?"   
  
"Glad to see you're feeling better." Another voice cut dryly into the conversation.   
  
"Uh-oh..." both boys chorused at once, but neither was able to tell which one of them had spoken.   
  
Meiru gave them a hard stare, taking in the pajamas, lab coat, and slippers. "Hikari Netto, what on Earth are you _doing!?_   
  
  
  
~to be continued...   
_____________________________  
  
Shi-chan: And another chapter wrapped up! Now, click that 'submit review' button I told you about...see you tomorrow! 


	6. Blue Spark!

Rockman.EXE is not mine. Don't sue. The only character I own in here is Emdee, and even he's named after a droid. ^_~   
  
________________________  
  
  
Us After This  
Chapter 6  
_~by Shimegami-chan_  
  
  
A/N: Please excuse any minor mistakes and the clashing between the EXE anime and Battle Network. I just saw ep 25 of the EXE anime...it's gone totally AU from the game. :P So, this fic will continue to follow the Battle Network game storyline, and any mistakes in earlier chapters with anime references will be fixed.   
  
_January 3, 2003 - Now they're fixed. ^_~_   
  
Aya Brea - I just might do that. :)   
  
Cyber - Yes, Netto knows. Saito died very young, else Netto would have probably known about him before Rockman came along. :P  
  
Lizeth - Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeus fanart! I love it! I'll try to upload it so other people can see. :)  
  
Minna-sama, thanks for your comments! :D Please keep reading!  
Enjoy!   
  
________________________  
  
  
  
"M-Meiru-chan!" Saito managed to choke out, since Netto seemed to be mostly in shock.   
  
"What are you doing out of the hospital?" she demanded, hands on hips.   
  
Saito released his control so a flustered Netto could reply. "I went to see Papa."   
  
"In your pajamas?"   
  
Before Netto could say anything, Saito was back in charge. "Where's Roll-chan? Is she okay!?"   
  
Meiru gave the boys a curious glance. "Of course she is. She transferred back to my PET after you disconnected your dad's."   
  
"How's Rockman?" Roll's voice emerged from the terminal at Meiru's side.   
  
He hesitated suddenly, so Netto took over. "We're both fine now. The transfer was successful."   
  
Meiru handed Netto her PET so Roll could speak to the boy directly. "I'm so glad you two are okay! Where did Rockman's data go after Gutsman and I logged out?"   
  
"Uh..." Netto hoped that his twin would answer, but Saito made no move. "The drone program put it into my computer for safekeeping." He did not mention that Rockman was tapped into his biotechnological networks.   
  
"He gave us a scare," Roll said, and Saito quirked a slight smile.   
  
"Anyway, it looks like I don't have to head to the Government Complex," Meiru declared. "I was going to your dad's office to ask about Rockman, but now I've found you instead. How are you doing?"   
  
"Much better, thanks," Netto replied.   
  
Saito, thinking as always of his twin, gently led Meiru out of the train station and out into the sunlight. "Actually, we were just going back to the hospital."   
  
"We?"   
  
Netto made a face. _I wonder if we should tell her. She _is_ my best friend after all._ Out loud he said, "Just me, sorry. I'm a little sleepy."   
  
He wished he knew what Rockman was thinking about as the Navi led them through the streets of Akihara. Saito mused to himself aloud, dropping obvious hints for the brunette. "I want to get some normal clothes, and shoes."   
  
"Then I have to go to the hospital and get my PET," Netto added.   
  
Meiru looked at Netto--who now had control of both movement and speech--strangely. "You sound so odd."  
  
"What?"   
  
"Your voice keeps fluctuating," she said slowly. "I can't put my finger on it. You're being very soft-spoken one moment, and then talking very fast the next. Are you sure you're okay?"   
  
"Yeah," Netto said quietly, trying to modulate his voice. It was the same difference he'd pointed out to Saito on the train.   
  
Meiru and Netto entered the Hikari house, the latter calling a greeting as they paused in the door.Getting no answer, the boy plodded upstairs to his room. Saito spoke the moment they were alone. "Well, what do we do now?"   
  
"I'm not sure," Netto confessed a moment later, pulling on a pair of shorts. "Why aren't we telling Meiru-chan that you're here?"   
  
"We're not? I was just expecting _you_ to tell her."   
  
"You had control of my voice!"   
  
"I let it go every time I finished a sentence!"   
  
"Well, I didn't know that!" Netto said sourly, slipping on his blue bandanna.   
  
"Fine, you handle it." Saito said lightly. He then fell silent.   
  
"Aw, Rock...Rockman?" Netto scowled and jokingly rapped on the side of his own head. "Rock?"   
  
Saito replied only by shrugging.   
  
"Oy." Netto grabbed his rollerblades and ran downstairs to where Meiru was waiting. "Sorry about that, Meiru-ch--eh?" The room was empty. "Meiru-chan?"   
  
A muffled thump came from the back room, and Netto instinctively followed it. Meiru sat on the floor with a gag in her mouth as a tall man Netto didn't recognize tied her hands together. He looked up with a smirk as Netto entered the room. "Well. Hikari Netto. Just the person I wanted to see."   
  
"Who are you?" Netto demanded.   
  
"No one in particular," the stranger spat. "Just one of the faceless World Three supporters whose life you and your Navi destroyed."   
  
"Get away from her," Netto said sharply. Meiru's eyes were wide with fear.   
  
"I don't think you're in a position to make demands, kid," the man laughed. "I'm going to delete your Navi, and then I'm going to kill you!"   
  
The voice that next came out of Netto was bitter and cold. "Delete? I think I'm much too far gone for _that_ now."   
  
Even Netto was surprised by the vehemence in his twin's voice. "Rock..."   
  
"Let me handle this, Netto-kun," Saito said quietly.   
  
"Are you sure?"   
  
"Yeah." Saito smiled tightly and shifted his weight, sinking into a battle stance.   
  
The intruder looked confused by the exchange. "Are you crazy or something, kid? Where's your PET?"   
  
"You want the Navi?" Saito said with a feral smile. "You've got him." With that he sprung forward, launching himself at the ex-WWW member.   
  
Every bit of fighting skill and instinct to protect himself and his partner went into the attack, and Netto was carried along for the ride. Saito tackled the loyalist and knocked him to the floor with a grunt. Meiru inched away from the fight.   
  
"What--what the hell!" the man gasped as soon as he regained his breath. He grabbed "Netto's" arm tightly. "Kid...that was a bad idea."   
  
"Oh no," Saito whispered, so quietly that Netto himself barely heard. "_That_ was a bad idea."   
  
Though Netto's body didn't have half the strength Rockman's did, Saito still possessed the fighting prowess and agility that his Navi body had. Saito's hand shot out to grab the loyalist's arm and slipped under it, catching the man so off-guard that he was unable to stop himself from being hurled to the floor.   
  
The loyalist wheezed and grabbed for Saito, who darted back in an instant. The older man didn't even have time to move before Saito was on him again. Two punches connected with the man's gut before he doubled over in pain, unable to move.   
  
"Well. That got out a little pent-up frustration." Saito grinned and stretched sinuously, his voice once again mild.   
  
"R-Rockman?" Netto breathed, realizing that the Navi had released his control.   
  
"Eh...sorry," his twin said with a blush. "I shouldn't have reacted like that."   
  
"No apologies needed. Actually...nice work."   
  
Saito sighed and untied Meiru, wrapping the ropes around the loyalist, who was still immobile with pain. "You're lucky he didn't have his Rockbuster," Netto admonished. Saito stifled a laugh.   
  
Meiru stared at Netto in disbelief. "_What_ just happened?"   
  
Netto waited for Saito to answer, but he was beginning to realize that his twin kept silent at the most inopportune times. "Meiru-chan...Rockman's data...is inside of me. In my implant. He's linked to me...he's inside my head."   
~to be continued... 


	7. So Much Together

Rockman.EXE is not mine. Don't sue.   
________________________  
  
Us After This  
Chapter 7  
_~by Shimegami-chan_  
http://www.shimegami.com/ichijouji  
  
A/N: Kyaa! How typical of me to just run off like that. ~_~ Everybody forgotten about this story yet?  
  
Shi-chan the colossal workaholic strikes again. This time I've pitched in with Anime Haven, the fansub group working on Rockman EXE. (Well, myself and the rest of WPP. :P) As if one project isn't enough, now we're doing four, plus a host of little side projects. Too bad I don't get paid for this stuff. :P   
  
Read on!   
________________________  
  
  
Meiru gasped. "Are you sure you're supposed to be out of the hospital yet?"   
  
"It's true," Saito said quietly, in his soft-spoken tone. Though the voice was Netto's the words froze Meiru where she was.   
  
"How can that be possible?" she asked, her voice shaking.   
  
"It's complicated..." Saito started to reply.   
  
Netto switched gears. "Che! Do you two have to be so serious at a time like this? There's a World Three guy right in front of us!"   
  
"Oh...right!" Saito blushed.   
  
"Meiru-chan, can Roll check out the house's security system?" Netto asked.   
  
"I guess so." Meiru's PET was on the floor, its power turned off by the intruder. She turned it back on. "Roll, are you all right?"   
  
"I'm fine, Meiru-chan. What happened?" The pink-jumpsuited Navi looked shaken, and Gutsman stood in the background.   
  
"Nothing to worry about," Meiru soothed. "A break-in at Netto's, but we took care of him. I'm going to plug-in to the house security system, okay? Make sure they didn't do anything to it."   
  
"Okay," Roll agreed. Meiru plugged the cord into a socket on the wall and she and Netto/Saito watched with interest as Roll investigated.   
  
"Viruses," the pink Navi declared. "Just some Mettool."   
  
"Can you delete them?" Saito asked breathlessly.   
  
"Worried?" Netto said with a sly grin.   
  
"A little," Saito admitted.  
  
"Okay, that is bizarre," Meiru groaned. "Talk inside Netto's head or something."   
  
"We can't," Saito admonished. "We haven't--"   
  
The door flew open. "Meiru-chaaaaaaan!"   
  
"Dekao-kun!" Meiru glanced away from her PET, where Roll was easily tromping Mettool.   
  
"Meiru-chan! Are you all right?" he exclaimed, running to her side. The big boy took a moment to stare at the other occupant of the room. _"Netto?"_   
  
"That's me."   
  
Dekao gaped for a moment. "Aren't you in the hospital?"   
  
"Well, I _was_..."   
  
"Meiru-chan," Roll interrupted. "The viruses are gone."   
  
"Good, nice work. No Navis in there?"   
  
"None."   
  
Meiru unplugged the cord. "That guy's Navi must still be in his PET. Come on, let's check it out."   
  
"Yeah." Netto went to the loyalist's side and grabbed his PET, allowing Rockman's agile instincts to help him avoid the man's thrashing body. With Meiru peering over his shoulder, he switched on the PET, and a purple Navi appeared on the screen.   
  
"Where's Snides-sama?" it questioned, looking hard at Netto. "Are you Hikari?"   
  
"I am..." Netto answered slowly. "Your Operator is...incapacitated...at the moment." He wasn't quite sure what to say, and Saito didn't make any suggestions.   
  
A moment later another Navi appeared beside the first, a green one. "Server-sama has completed his mission. Hikari has been disposed of."   
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Netto snapped, and both enemy programs turned to look at him.   
  
The green one looked angry. "Snides was supposed to kill him! Where's his Navi?"   
  
"Let's go to your PET," the purple one suggested, glaring at Netto. The two Navis disappeared, leaving Netto staring at the PET in shock.   
  
"'Disposed of?'" Saito said finally, a tinge of worry in his voice.   
  
"There were two of them..." Netto hissed. "One came here. The other must have went after Papa! We've got to get back to the labs!"   
  
"Right!"   
  
Netto jammed his rollerblades onto his shoes and charged out the door, Meiru and Dekao hot on his heels. Saito wished there was something he could do to comfort his friend, but Netto was skating much too fast for him to risk taking over. When Netto finally did look over his shoulder, Saito saw that Meiru alone was following them, riding her scooter and yelling aloud to Roll something the boys ahead couldn't hear.   
  
Netto fell noisily down the stairs into the Metroline station, barely landing on his feet. "Be careful, Netto-kun!" Saito managed to instinctively call.   
  
"I know!" Netto answered in turn, shoving coins into the fare box and skidding into the train, Meiru a step behind. "You worry too much, Rockman."   
  
"I didn't want you back in the hospital with a broken leg," Saito bantered good-naturedly.   
  
"Roll, how's Dekao-kun?" Meiru questioned.   
  
"Dekao called the police, de gutsu," Gutsman answered from the PET. "He's coming back to Meiru-chan now."  
  
"Tell him we're on our way to the Science Labs," Meiru instructed. "Roll, you have access to Hikari-san's PC, right? Go ahead and meet us there."   
  
"Okay, Meiru-chan!" Roll linked to Emdee's computer while Saito turned his attention to his twin.   
  
Netto was still panicked and angry. "Netto-kun?"   
  
"Hm?"   
  
"Calm down..."   
  
A laugh escaped the young teen. "I'm okay. Thanks, Rock."   
  
If any of the other passengers noticed, they didn't say anything.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
When Netto and Meiru arrived at the Labs, it was clear that something had indeed happened. There were police cars and ambulances outside the building, and a huge crowd milling in the lobby. No one was at the main desk, so Netto, Saito and Meiru took the elevator up to Dr. Hikari's office.   
  
There, they quickly pinpointed the source of the disturbance. Police tape held back a flood of reporters and staff, and several officers were shooing away the crowd. Netto squeezed to the front, just inside his father's lab.   
  
Inside the office was a swarm of emergency teams, and lying on the floor in a pool of blood was a person Netto knew very well. "Oh my God..." Saito gasped as ice crept into their stomach.   
  
Netto let out a howl of agony and bolted forward, under the tape and through a clump of surprised officers. Saito could feel Netto's anger burning inside them, and he fought to control the urge to calm his twin.   
  
Meiru's voice called out to them from behind. "Netto! Rock!"   
  
An officer beside the injured man was talking to a medic, who was gently moving him onto a stretcher. "They suspect it was a World Three loyalist, and--hey! Kid, what do you think you're doing?"   
  
Netto dropped to his knees beside his father and Saito willed the man's eyes to open and reassure them that it was okay. Dr. Hikari's face was contorted with pain--he seemed to be alive but unconscious.   
  
"Papa..." Netto whispered.   
  
Saito could feel dull shock replacing his twin's anger. He dared not take control, except to murmur softly, "Netto-kun..."   
  
In the background, other voices began to speak.   
  
"Oh my God, it's Hikari's son."   
  
"Move the crowd, this man needs to get to the hospital!"   
  
"Apply more pressure!"   
  
"_Netto!"_   
  
"World Three..." Netto said dully, the implications of that sinking in to his mind. "Rock...they went through Papa...to get to _us._"   
  
  
  
  
  
  
-------------------------  
Shi-chan: Ooh...getting dark...  
Seki: Thanks to Art for the villain name suggestions! :) 


	8. Invoke

Rockman.EXE is not mine. Don't sue.   
________________________  
  
Us After This  
Chapter 8  
_~by Shimegami-chan_  
  
Exhibit 1: http://www.shimegami.com/ichijouji/rockmanswimsuit.jpg  
_Swimsuit Rockman [Fanart by Spicy]_   
  
Exhibit 2: http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=27935  
_Obsessed Fangirl_   
  
Exhibit 3: http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=977085&chapter=7  
_Resulting fanfic_   
  
Read and review, or the rabid fangirl may attack.   
________________________  
  
  
  
_Beep. Beep. Beep. _   
  
The sounds of the heart monitor were erratic and strained, as though its owner could not decide whether to breathe. His wife knelt by his side; his son's best friend solemn by the headboard. His son, looking grim, was plugged into a Net terminal beside the bed.   
  
The boy held a PET in his hands, with a blank screen upon it. It was in standby mode--its Navi had left so suddenly that the programs hadn't even been closed. A status bar ran in the background of the screen, blue with white lines upon it.   
  
Rockman had never seen the PET from this side out.   
  
It was a curious invention, small and sleek. The PET itself was streamlined, silver, with a keypad and a handle to hold. The little terminal made clicking noises sometimes as programs ran, but there was no one inside to navigate them anymore.   
  
Through the eyes of Hikari Netto, Rockman.EXE had seen more in one day than he had ever imagined he'd experience.   
  
On the bed, their father lay in critical condition. Saito was almost overwhelmed by emotion--both his own, and the fear and pain of Netto pouring through the body they shared. Though Netto had brought them here, to this hospital and room after hours of agonizing wait, it was now Saito that stood by his father's bed, inspecting the PET he had once occupied.   
  
"Netto..." Meiru spoke up from her position by the window.   
  
Saito waited, turning his head to look at her.   
  
"Netto...?" she repeated.   
  
Saito frowned. "Netto-kun?"   
  
The withdrawn twin answered both queries by closing his eyes and clenching his fist, a move that took Saito by surprise. Once Netto released control of their body Saito grimaced. "Eh...sorry, Meiru-chan, I don't think he feels like talking right now."   
  
Meiru glanced at Hikari Haruka, kneeling at her husband's bedside, but it seemed as though she had missed the exchange. Netto and Meiru had told no one what happened to Rockman, not even Dekao, who had arrived at the Science Labs and accompanied them to the hospital earlier that day. Neither had they mentioned the attack on Netto, but Saito suspected that if it was connected to Dr. Hikari's shooting they would be hearing from the police soon enough.   
  
"We should go back to my house awhile..." Meiru suggested slowly. "You can get something to eat, and I think you ought to rest too."   
  
Netto, of course, didn't answer. After a long moment Saito finally said, "I think that would be a good idea. If Netto-kun doesn't object."   
  
'Netto-kun' either didn't object or didn't care. Saito sighed and hooked the PET to his belt. "Okay, let's go. Shall we take Emdee?"   
  
"Good idea, in case something else happens. Your father has a lot of important data in that PET, right?"   
  
"All his research on me, for certain. I'd prefer to keep it with me." Saito took the other PET and added it to the bag Netto had left at the hospital during his stay. "We can go to the lab's computer later and have Emdee check out the files, since we don't know whether the criminals did anything to his research...um...Mama?"   
  
Haruka did not respond; she was fast alseep, her head pillowed on Yuuichirou's arm. Saito smiled gently. "She needs her rest too. Netto certainly scared everyone this week, and now the shooting..."   
  
"How are _you_ doing?" Meiru asked, stepping around the bed. "This has been just as hard on you."   
  
"Well, obviously I wasn't as close to...Papa...as Netto-kun was. We spent a lot of time together when he programmed and tested me, of course...but...I never really knew _him._" Saito knelt beside Haruka and gathered her into his arms, moving her to the chair with ease. Meiru tucked a sheet around her.   
The two teens left the hospital room and headed for the Metroline, back to Akihara. Saito chose to walk rather than rollerblade, although his sense of balance was just as good or better than Netto's.   
  
"Ne...Rock..." Meiru said slowly as they boarded the train. "Without Hikari-san, how will you get back into your PET?"  
  
Saito sighed again. "I don't know."   
  
"Oh." The pink-haired girl fell silent. "...Sorry."   
  
"It's okay, we'll be fine." Truthfully Saito couldn't say for sure _how_ Netto felt about the matter. He trusted his partner implicitly; knew Netto would do anything for him...but this would be a strain. What if Hikari Yuuchirou died, and the twins were stuck together?   
  
Forever?   
  
For his part, Netto was still silent. The brunette hadn't actually spoken a word since he'd seen his father in the hospital, and had been content to let Saito take over awhile. Saito was starting to wonder whether Netto wanted to deal with life at all today.   
  
_Must be a handy escape, even if it puts me in a bad position,_ he thought. _I just wish he'd talk to me._ It was so unlike Netto to withdraw like this, after all--even in the worst of times, Netto had always been a go-getter.   
  
As though reading his mind, Meiru said, "It's odd, isn't it? Poor Netto...thinking he might lose both you and his father in the same week. This must be really hard on him, having just gotten you back."   
  
"Yeah..." Saito replied slowly. "It seems like even I can't do anything for him, though."   
  
"Rock..." Roll's voice from Meiru's side was muffled. Meiru handed Saito her PET.   
  
"Roll-chan...?"   
  
"You can't give up, okay? We'll catch those World Three criminals--I'll delete their Navis myself for what they did to Meiru-chan. We'll find them, and I'm sure Hikari-sensei will be all right. Everybody can go back to normal."   
  
"Normal..."   
  
Saito put his hand over the heart they shared.   
  
_How can anything ever be 'normal' again after this?   
  
  
  
  
  
_ ________________________  
Shi-chan: Hope you are all enjoying! :D   
Seki: Thanks again to Lizeth and SpicyMarmalade for the gorgeous fanart! I really appreciate it! 


	9. Pied Piper

Rockman.EXE is not mine. Don't sue.   
________________________  
  
Us After This  
Chapter 9  
_~by Shimegami-chan_  
  
Author's Note: Wah! I'm _so_ sorry, minna-sama. I've been incredibly busy with both schoolwork and WPP lately, and I've barely had time to breathe, much less write. x.x Today I got an Author Alert for the latest chapter of _State of Mind_, and it was the first fanfic I'd read in nearly a month.  
  
I scribbled this chapter out in linguistics class two weeks ago. ^^;; Sorry for the delay!  
________________________  
  
  
  
By the time Saito and Meiru had visited the Science Labs, the police station, and the Hikari home once again, the sun had set over Akihara-cho and activity on the streets of Densan City had stilled.   
  
Saito, for his part, felt more drained than he had ever been. His brother's body was heavier than he was used to; his innate energy whittled away. It had occured to Saito eventually that Netto's body needed food and sleep--things he wasn't accustomed to supplying. As Meiru unplugged Roll from the house security system and led him next door, Saito was almost too tired to move.   
  
Sakurai-san greeted him with genuine concern, ushering him up to the guest room while offering to cook them a late supper. Meiru followed quietly was her mother fussed. Almost immediately Saito found himself with a full stomach, piled high with pillows and blankets, and dressed in pajamas Meiru had packed from Netto's room.   
  
Meiru hovered in the room, watching Roll, Emdee and Gutsman carry on a heated discussion in her PET. She and Saito had ensured that Emdee had backed up all of Dr. Hikari's files into Rockman's PET, which Saito now carried. The boy held the PET in one hand and Netto's bandanna clutched in the other as though afraid to let go. Roll watched him nervously.   
  
"There's nothing more we can do," Emdee pronounced.   
  
"Well, we can find that Server guy and bring him to the police!" Roll said angrily.   
  
"I was referring to Hikari-san's condition," Emdee replied. "He is in the best of medical care, and I have taken precautions to secure backups of all research. The search in the Real World must be left up to Meiru, Dekao, Yaito, and Netto."   
  
"Netto's in no shape for it," Meiru sighed. "And Rockman..." She turned to look at the Navi.   
  
Saito had fallen asleep sitting up, lips parted slightly, PET and bandanna hugged to his chest. Roll smiled sadly. "He must have been tired."   
  
"Just where is Rockman?" Glyde asked hesitantly.   
  
"De gutsu..."   
  
"You need rest too, Meiru-chan," Roll pressed.   
  
"But, Netto..."   
  
Roll's green eyes glittered with emotion. "Meiru-chan... you go to sleep, and keep an eye on them... I'll do what I can from here. We'll find a way to put everything back to normal."   
  
"Should we tell Dekao-kun and Yaito-chan? About...Saito-kun?"   
  
Both girls' eyes rested on the sleeping boy. "I'm not sure. Maybe Netto should tell them himself."  
  
"If he ever decides to talk to us."   
  
"Then, it's our secret, for now," Roll said finally. "I'll ask--" she lowered her voice "--Rock about it in the morning."   
  
"All right. Good night, Roll."   
  
"Good night, Meiru-chan." Meiru draped a blanket over the sleeping boy and turned off the lights, heading back to her own room.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
It was dark.  
  
Hikari Netto had swam in the darkness for some time, intrigued by the way his body slept while he did not.   
  
And so he floated.   
  
The program known as Rockman.EXE, coupled with Saito.BAT, still controlled the computer systems, even though the personality that usually inhabited it had long been unconscious. It was not often that the program's owner had been so overworked that he simply stopped responding, as was the situation.   
  
Netto didn't mind.   
  
Rockman's program interfering with his control was turning into both an incentive for Netto to think as well as an excuse to escape from the happenings outside. The attacks on Meiru and his father had stricken Netto to the core--more so than anything that had ever happened to him in his adventures.   
  
He didn't know how to explain this...this _feeling_, of dread and anxiety, that had crept inside him throughout the past week. He had never felt such a deep depression before. He knew it was a result of stress and fluctuating emotions, but he couldn't bring himself to be cheerful anymore. Even having Rockman back did nothing, since he couldn't _talk_ to his Navi the way he used to.   
  
He tried to whisper, "Saito-niisan," into the darkness, but no sound left his physical body. Netto thought maybe he should sleep, and pass the long hours that were to come, but his consciousness would not comply.   
  
Sleep was a tool of the body and mind, neither of which belonged to Hikari Netto anymore.   
  
  
  
  
  
_______________________  
  
Shi-chan: I finally finished my Japanese copy of EXE 1, so hopefully I'll have the names/suffixes/locations/Saito details down pat now :P The Saito scene and music almost made me cry. ;_; Must...play...again! 


	10. Sunrise Sunset

Rockman.EXE is not mine. Don't sue.   
________________________  
  
Us After This  
Chapter 10  
_~by Shimegami-chan_  
  
Author's Note: Whee, somehow got out this chapter quicker than the last. Incidentally I should be doing schoolwork, but that can wait till tomorrow, and the editing on EXE 27 doesn't have to be done for another couple of hours yet. Enjoy kudasai!  
________________________  
  
  
  
Time passed quickly over the next few days for the Akihara Net battlers and their families--a week of searching and uncertainties. Life had become a parody of normality for most; and those that remained became distant, not knowing what to say.   
  
Hikari Yuuichirou's condition had moved from critical to stable, the coma in which he slept a morbid parody of the one his son had suffered through just days before. Haruka was by his side constantly, speaking to him in a quiet voice, laughing weakly at her own jokes. She often spent the night at his bedside, holding his hand in her sleep.   
  
The remaining two family members were being faced with a position they never had before. Saito was in a constant state of feigning normalcy; while Netto had not spoken in days. Worried for Netto, Meiru and Saito had kept the predicament a secret from both family and friends.   
  
"Netto, you're going to have to go back to school."   
  
"What?" Saito looked up from his PET, where Emdee was currently putting together information he had gathered on the remaining WWW faction. "I didn't hear you come in, Mama."   
  
Hikari Haruka looked tired and worn, her eyes heavy-lidded from lack of sleep. "I'm not going to sleep at the hospital anymore. You and I have to start living normal lives again, no matter what happens."   
  
"You want me... to go back to school?" The thought unnerved Saito. It was fine to pretend to be Netto here, in front of Mama and Dekao and Yaito, but in front of Mariko-sensei and his classmates was too much. Saito knew how much his speech habits differed from his twin, and a thousand other details that had arisen over the years. He knew perfectly well _how_ to be Hikari Netto, but it wasn't necessarily a role he wanted to play for the rest of his life.   
  
_You could, if Papa dies,_ he thought inwardly.   
  
He had been forced to tell his mother about the attack on Meiru, which had gotten both of them off school for the rest of the week while the crime was investigated. However, the police hadn't reported anything new, and the man who shot Hikari Yuuichirou still hadn't been caught. There was only so much Roll and Emdee could do if the Net Police wasn't even on the lookout for the criminals' Navis.   
  
"It's what's best. I don't want you to fall too far behind." Haruka looked as though she expected an argument (which was, Saito reflected, what Netto most likely would have given her). He wondered if Netto could be convinced to come out of his shell enough to go to school.   
  
"All right, I understand," he said simply. She had been through more than enough already. "I'll go."  
  
Haruka looked relieved and thanked her son, closing the bedroom door as she left. Saito put down the PET and sighed. "Netto-kun...?"  
  
Netto, of course, didn't answer, the same way he hadn't answered in the past four days. "I can't keep doing this. I can't live your life forever. Why won't you talk to me?"   
  
The computer hummed softly; Haruka sang to herself in the kitchen. Saito whispered, "Netto-kun, I miss you."   
  
After a long moment, Saito forced back the feelings of loneliness that had flooded him and turned to Netto's PC, deciding to page Roll using an instant messenger system.   
  
Roll linked to Netto's PC almost immediately, her green eyes blinking at him from inside the screen. "Rock! I haven't seen you at all today. How are you?"   
  
"I'm fine, Roll-chan," Saito said with a smile. "And you?"   
  
"I'm great," she said happily. "Gutsman and I found a possible link to Server and Snides' Navis in Den Area 3. We're going to check it out tomorrow."   
  
"You and Gutsman?" Saito hesitated, but shook the twinge of jealousy away. "I wish I could be in there helping you guys."   
  
"It's OK, you and Meiru-chan are doing great! Um...how's Netto?"   
  
"Still not talking to anybody."   
  
"Sorry..." she apologized. "This must be really hard for you."   
  
"Yeah..."   
  
"Don't worry, we'll fix everything. Meiru-chan told me Hikari-san is doing a lot better, and we're closer to catching those loyalists now!"   
  
"I have a lot of patience," Saito smiled. "But this is tough on me too. So many people have been hurt... because of us. We did what we thought was right, you know? And now I've lost my program, and Netto's depressed, and I'm in this unfamiliar body pretending to be someone I'm not..."   
  
"Rock..."   
  
"...I miss you," he said finally, letting his fingertips softly brush the screen.   
  
Roll clasped her hands together and smiled sadly. "I miss you too."   
  
Saito longed to tell her just how difficult this was for him, but finding the words was twice as difficult knowing Netto was watching. It wasn't the same anyway, the boy she spoke to could be Hikari Netto or Hikari Saito, but it was no longer Rockman.EXE. Not with this face; this voice. Saito wondered what Roll thought about when she looked at him like that. Did she wonder if it really _was_ the same Navi she'd known, under the chocolate-brown eyes?   
  
"...Rock?"   
  
He forced a smile and focused on her once again. "I should get to bed now. Can you tell Meiru that I'll be going to school tomorrow? I was hoping she'd come too."   
  
"Okay." Roll looked a bit disappointed--because the earlier conversation had ended so abruptly?--and stepped back. "Then, good night!"   
  
"Good night, Roll-chan."   
  
She waved and linked out, and Saito slowly closed the program. The chat with Roll had only served to depress him more, when he was trying so hard to keep Netto afloat.   
  
He lay down on the bed, focusing on the ceiling. "You know, Netto-kun, you're not the only one who has it hard lately... You could at least talk to me. Have you considered the fact that I miss Roll and Gutsman and Glyde? The only one I have left now is you."   
  
The computer hummed softly on the desk.   
  
"...If you disappear, what am I going to do?"   
  
  
  
  
  
  
------------------------------  
Shi-chan: My apologies to people who were enjoying the angst; I started listening to _Brand New Way_ partway through the fic and my mood kinda reversed...  
Seki: She does things like that from time to time. ^^;;  
Shi-chan: Oh, look who finally shows up. AFTER the chapter is done.  
Seki: Ya gotta think for yourself sometimes, Netto-kun.  
Shi-chan: Don't you patronize me, you lazy muse!  
Seki: Aren't you used to it now? :P *runs*  
Shi-chan: Omae o korosu!  
Making a quick note; Roll does call him 'Rock' in the Japanese version, and I'm trying my hardest to follow the continuity here. :) _January 4/03 - And I went back and fixed it in the other chapters too :P_


	11. The Impression I Get

Rockman.EXE is not mine. Don't sue.   
________________________  
  
Us After This  
Chapter 11  
_~by Shimegami-chan_  
  
Author's Note: Yay! Back on schedule, and I've drawn up some jot notes, so I think I know where this is going now! ~^_^~  
________________________  
  
  
  


_________________________________________  
  
_Never had to--I'd better knock on wood  
'Cause I know someone who has  
Which makes me wonder if I could  
Never had to--I'd better knock on wood  
'Cause I'm sure it isn't good  
And I'm glad I haven't yet  
That's the impression that I get...  
__~The Mighty Mighty Bosstones,_ The Impression I Get  
_________________________________________  


  
  
  
He was being whispered about.   
  
At the very least, his sudden alienation from the rest of the class (everyone knew about the loss of both his Navi and his father, though only Meiru knew what had really happened to Rockman) presented Saito with an excuse to act out-of-character.   
  
Most of the students tried to act as usual, but Saito knew better. Only Meiru, Dekao and Yaito sat by him at lunch; the former feigning normalcy, the latter two probably having noticed the change in Saito's mannerisms but keeping it to themselves. Saito noted that both Dekao and Yaito left their PETs in their desks, perhaps not wanting to make "Netto" uncomfortable so soon after Rockman's loss. Saito smiled to himself. He was glad that Netto had such friends to help him through tough times.   
  
Unfortunately, the twin he was masquerading as was still nowhere to be seen. More than once Saito had talked to him while alone, but Netto never replied. Saito was beginning to worry that something serious had happened to Netto, but there was nothing he could do while he was at school.   
  
When the day finally ended, Saito prepared to walk home with Meiru, and as he shouldered his backpack was caught offguard by his teacher. "Hikari-kun..."   
  
Startled, Saito looked up to meet her eyes. "Yes, Mariko-sensei?"   
  
"I wanted to ask how you were feeling. I know you got out of the hospital recently..."   
  
"I'm doing much better, thanks." He smiled awkwardly, glancing at Meiru. The pink-haired girl's eyebrow twitched just a bit.   
  
"You haven't been acting like yourself all day..."   
  
_Oops._ Abruptly he switched to Netto's less-formal speech habits, hoping it wouldn't have the same effect as his own. "Oh, I'm just tired. I slept so much last week that I've been up every night since, haha!"   
  
Meiru hid her face in the palms of her hands.   
  
Mariko-sensei gave him a wondering look, but didn't pry. "Well, I hope you're doing all right. If you need to talk about anything, be sure and come to me, all right?"   
  
"Sure, thanks." He grinned broadly, a move that seemed to put her at ease. The brown-haired teacher smiled back and returned to the front of the room as Meiru dragged Saito out the door.   
  
"Nice save, Rock-kun." Meiru had picked up her Navi's nickname for Rockman, since they had been spending so much time together lately. Saito didn't mind; it reminded him of Roll and was a constant sign that there was someone else who knew he wasn't Netto.   
  
"Thanks. Sometimes it's hard to talk all the time using Netto's speech habits."   
  
"I'd say." The two fell silent as they left the schoolgrounds, until Meiru's Navi called her name. She took out her PET. "What is it, Roll?"   
  
"Gutsman, Glyde and I are on our way to Den Area 3 now. Gutsman heard some information on one of the Net City boards about a Navi whose Operator's name is Server."   
  
"Be careful, Roll-chan," Saito cautioned.   
  
"Of course!"   
  
"Keep a link to Netto-kun's PC too, okay?"   
  
"Okay." She smiled. "I'm off, then!"   
  
"Take care," Meiru replied, and glanced at Saito. "Overprotective, are we?"   
  
"Just concerned..." Saito could not conceal his blush.   
  
"You go on home, then, and I'll talk to Yaito-chan and Dekao-kun."   
  
"All right. See you, Meiru-chan!" As she started towards Yaito's mansion Saito continued down the street and entered the house, greeting his mother in the kitchen before going upstairs to Netto's bedroom.   
  
Enough was enough.   
  
He seated himself in the desk chair, letting his eyes wander across the bare wall of the room. "Netto-kun?" He released control over their speech centres and waited, hoping Netto would at least answer. "I don't want to have to do this, but we really need to talk. I have to make sure you're all right."   
  
When no reply came, he withdrew control from the circuits altogether.   
  
Immediately the body they shared went limp, muscles relaxing suddenly from lack of use. Saito was only able to stare blankly at the ceiling as their head rested on the back of the chair.   
  
He waited.  
  
After a long moment Netto spoke. "Why did you do that?"   
  
Saito chose not to reply. Eventually Netto lazily sat up and glanced around the room, focusing finally on the PET in his lap. "You're mad at me."   
  
Deciding he'd made his point, Saito said quietly, "I'm not. I'm worried about you."   
  
"Worried? Ah, Rockman, how many times have I told you that you worry too much!" He laughed, but it sounded weak and hollow.   
  
"Netto-kun, you haven't spoken to me in days. Of course I'm worried. You have to get yourself together!"   
  
"I'm fine!" Netto insisted.   
  
"If you're _fine,_ then why have I been walking around pretending to be you while you hide in there?"   
  
"I wanted to think," he replied hotly.   
  
Saito inwardly gritted his teeth, trying not to let his program instinctively take over the system computers. "This isn't like you at all."   
  
"Maybe 'til now everyone close to me haven't all nearly _died_, Saito-niisan."   
  
Saito flinched and their body twitched, startling both boys. Neither spoke for a few moments.   
  
"It's been a while since you called me that," Saito said eventually.   
  
"Sorry, Rock...I'm just stressed..."   
  
"I know."   
  
The old familiar nickname seemed to settle them both, and Netto stood up and stretched. "You agreed to go back to school? That's not very me-like."   
  
"Then you should have said something."   
  
"Che! Always depending on me, aren't ya?" Netto grinned at his twin's lecturing tone of voice.   
  
"Constantly," Saito said good-naturedly.   
  
"Jeez! What have you got me wearing?" Netto inspected the black t-shirt Saito had donned that morning while his mother washed Netto's vest. "I guess it's kinda cool. Where'd it come from?"   
  
"Your closet. Papa sent it from one of his trips last year. And if you didn't like it--"   
  
"--I should have said something. I know, I know. Well, let's go, then!" He put his PET on his belt and headed out the door, taking his skates with him.   
  
"...Go? Where are we going?"   
  
"You said I should do something. So we're doing something!" Netto forced a smile and fell silent as he came downstairs, spotting Haruka in the kitchen. "I'm going out for a while, Mama. Bye!"   
  
"Be careful!" she called in response.   
  
Netto then proceeded to skate in lazy circles around the street while his confused twin waited. "Well?"  
  
"Well what?" Saito barely spoke in fear of making Netto lose his balance.   
  
"Where are we going? Densan?"   
  
"What? I guess so...?"   
  
"OK! To the Metroline!" Netto took off in a burst of speed around the block, slowing only to go down the stairs into the station itself. "What shall we do? We could go visit Miyuki and Saloma, or get some ice cream; what do you think, Rock?"  
  
"Uhh...you don't have to act this cheery for _my_ sake, Netto-kun..."   
  
"Nah, no way! You're right. I've been...what's the word? Stagnating, or something. I'm makin' you do all the work." He boarded the train and sat, continuing the conversation despite the polite glances of the other patrons. "I didn't even help you out at school. Sorry about that."   
  
"No, it's okay..."   
  
"Heh, Mariko-sensei must've really scared you when she mentioned you were acting weird! No one'd ever believe what actually happened though. Ne?" Netto forced himself to sound as normal as possible, suddenly perceiving that this was what his twin had went through for his sake the past week. Netto vowed to himself that he wouldn't put that kind of burden on his partner after this, no matter what he himself was feeling.   
  
Truthfully, Saito's little speech _had_ had stirred him a bit. Netto had been wallowing in self-pity since the shooting, and had barely even noticed. _From now on_, he thought, _I'll be genki.* For Rock's sake._   
  
"...Netto-kun?"   
  
He _did_ feel a little better after talking to Saito, he had to admit. Maybe this was what he needed after all. "Okay, since you're in my body and all, let's do stuff you wouldn't be able to do as a Navi. How about getting some ice cream?"   
  
Saito's curiosity had been piqued. "Sure," he agreed. Netto lead them out of the Metrorail to the streets of Densan, bustling with people at rush hour. A small ice-cream shop was on the corner of one of the city blocks not far from Miyuki's antique store, and that was where the twins ended up. Netto quickly found his fake cheerfulness being replaced by geniune enthusiasm, especially when it came time to order. "I'll have a large banana split with vanilla and rocky road ice cream, caramel, nuts, chocolate whipped cream, and a cherry. Please." A split second passed before he realized that he was eating for two. "Actually, make that a small banana split, and I'll also have a...um..." he hesitated again before saying distractedly, "Saito-niisan would probably like a parfait or something...chocolate maybe?"   
  
"Yes, I think he would," Saito decided aloud.   
  
Not missing a beat, Netto took over again. "A small chocolate parfait. Please."   
  
The woman behind the counter smiled, not noticing anything amiss, and handed Netto the ice cream and two spoons. He took them back to a booth in the corner and sat down, put the parfait in front of him, and picked up a spoon. "There you go, Rock. Try it."   
  
"Okay..." Hesitantly Saito assumed control and lifted the spoon to taste it. "Hm..."   
  
"Well, well?" the excited tone in Netto's voice was not to be missed.   
  
Saito laughed aloud. "It's good. I like it."   
  
"Hah, I knew I'd make a good choice. I'll shut up; you enjoy your ice cream. Just don't take too long, or mine'll melt."   
  
"Okay." Saito grinned and dug in.   
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
  
"Netto..." His breathing was laboured despite the machines regulating it, machines that were the only thing keeping him alive at that moment. "They're in danger..."   
  
"Shh, Papa..." Haruka soothed, holding his hand. "Don't try to talk now."   
  
"It's the drugs," the nurse pronounced, leaving a cup of water on the nighttable. "He's likely hallucinating right now, but he'll be okay when he wakes up. Now that he's out of the coma he's essentially out of danger."   
  
Haruka winced. "He sounds like he's suffering so..."   
  
"It'll be fine, Hikari-san. You just let him rest."   
  
On the hospital bed, Hikari Yuuichirou tossed and turned, his face contorted with pain. "Saito...Netto...stay away from Server...please...wait for me...!"   
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
  
"You're certain this is correct location?" Glyde looked doubtful as they stood outsite the Net access port.   
  
"We need a link, de gutsu."   
  
Roll frowned. "But where will we get that? Is there any way to trace this link back to the location of the owner's PC?"   
  
"That would take a considerable amount of time, but it can be done," Glyde replied. "I'll contact some of the security Navis once we return."   
  
"Well, we're _here_," Roll insisted. "We can't just leave."   
  
"Don't worry, you won't be going anywhere." A green Navi had appeared from the access port.   
  
"Who's that, de gutsu!?"   
  
"You're gotten this far and cannot guess that?" He smirked. "My name is Mouse. Knowing that will not help you in the least--and you'll have an even more difficult time finding information on Server-sama. Well, accurate information, that is."   
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Roll demanded.   
  
"Fool, how do you think that information got onto the Net City boards? Server-sama was expecting both you and the Hikari brat to come looking for us. Just where is Rockman?"   
  
Neither of the three answered, provoking a bitter laugh from the green Navi. "Turned tail, did he? I suppose he's not as brave as I'd heard."   
  
"Don't speak ill of Rockman-san," Glyde said suddenly, coming unexpectedly to Rockman's defense.   
  
"Then where is the coward?"   
  
Tears welled up in Roll's eyes and she bit back an angry reply. Gutsman stood protectively in front of her and faced Mouse.   
  
"Could it be..." Mouse stepped closer, leering. "Could it be that he's been _deleted?_"   
  
Their silence was the confirmation he needed. Mouse laughed aloud. "Server-sama, did you hear that! It seems Rockman has finally met his end. Tell me, Roll-chan," he pried, the familiar name making her flinch. "...whatever happened to him? Perhaps...a virus?"   
  
Something inside of her snapped. "It was you! _You_ infected him with that virus somehow, didn't you!?"   
  
"Ah, but I've told you much too much already. Perhaps if you'll join me for a while I'll think about telling you more?"   
  
"I'm not going anywhere with you!"   
  
"Pity. Key!" Mouse raised his voice just slightly. "I don't think these are very grateful guests for Server-sama. Take her, and let's go."   
  
_"Roll!_ Behind you!" Meiru screamed. The purple Navi that she and Netto has seen in Snides' PET appeared in an instant, grabbed Roll by the waist, and disappeared into the PC link.   
  
"Roll-chan!" Gutsman bellowed, lunging for Mouse.   
  
The green Navi made a tsk'ing sound and took a step backwards. "Such rude guests, certainly. Well, I'll delete you some other time, I have more important things to attend to. Good-bye!" Before Gutsman even had time to move again Mouse was gone as well, and the link closed.   
  
"Glyde! Plug-out!" Yaito snapped, disconnecting her PET from the computer. She turned to Meiru, eyes wide, frozen still. Beside the girls Dekao continued to direct Gutsman as the bigger Navi pounded on the access port, screaming obscenities. Yaito had never seen him so angry.   
  
"It's no good, de gutsu," Gutsman cried as he beat his fists against the wall. "Roll-chan! Roll-chan!"   
  
"Roll..." Meiru couldn't tear her eyes away from her PET, the system hissing indignantly at the suddenly severed link.   
  
On the screen, there was only static.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
------------------------------   
  
_The Impression I Get_ belongs to the Mighty Mighty Bosstones.   
  
Whee, cliffhangers!   
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES:  
genki - energetic, cheerful, etc. there are english words, but none really fit what I was trying to say. apologies-- it's been a while since I've had any japanese except suffixes in my fics, this is a one-time-only thing. :P   
  
In the manga, Mariko-sensei called Netto 'Hikari-kun.' The anime uses 'Netto-kun' (I think). Since the manga usually follows the game suffixes more closely, and I don't really feel like playing the whole game through right now to find out what Mariko'd call him, I'll go for Hikari-kun. Whee.   
  
I'm hoping by now everyone's figured out my naming patterns. When people are talking TO Rockman they call him by their previous preference (Rock or Rockman for Netto, Rock for Meiru and Roll, Rockman-san for Glyde, etc) but when he's being referred to by yon narrator (that'd be me) he's called Saito. So far this works pretty well; the only one likely to actually call him 'Saito' is Yuuichirou, and Roll and Netto both used it to make a point. The same applies still to Yuuichirou; when people speak to him they call him Hikari-sensei (this may be changed to Hikari-san or Hikari-hakase; since I haven't seen anyone use 'sensei' in the game and I think that might only apply to medical doctors) and when speaking *about* him I'll use Dr. Hikari or just Yuuichirou.   
  
I'm certain you noticed. This story is FULL of plot holes. I started the story BEFORE playing the game; I was writing for the anime storyline. A friend told me about the Saito plot. However...that particular arc hasn't _happened_ in the anime, and it doesn't look like it'll happen soon (if at all). This is a shame because I'm much more familiar with the anime, having translated/edited a good chunk of it. So it's incredibly easy to slip into anime storyline habits--such as my use of the name 'Rockman' constantly instead of Netto's more familiar 'Rock', details about the Net, Yaito's use of 'Hikari-kun' for Netto, Rockman's relationship with Roll (it pops up in the anime, but it a bit more defined in the game), and the complete absence of Tohru. I had actually WRITTEN Tohru into a scene in this chapter that I had to remove upon remembering that Tohru isn't _in_ the game. For that reason, Iceman won't be going with Gutsman, Glyde and Roll. Sorry guys. :P I'm certain I mentioned him in chapter 9, but that'll have to be edited later, as will...well, everything else. Anyway, small details and minor plot holes will be whisked away by Rush later, as in after the story is done. _(January 4/2003 Done. ^_^)_ I'll try and stay in continuity as much as possible from here on in. :)   
  
Shi: We're coming to the climax of the story. However will it end! *gasp*  
Seki: What, you mean you came up with something? I know _I_ didn't...  
Shi: Shh! Don't tell them that!  
Saito: Wait...you mean you don't KNOW how this thing ends?  
Shi: *defensively* Well, the story just kinda fell out of my head, I didn't think it through very well, and, uh--blame the muse!!!  
Seki: WHAT!?  
G: I vote that all muses revolt.  
Duo: Oh, I second that.  
Shi: How about the authors revolt?  
Seki: You did that already. I think you called it "returning to real life" at the time.  
G: FREE THE MUSE!  
Duo: LIBERTY FOR MUSES!  
Saito: *facepalms*  
Shi: Gaia, your muse and mine seem to be starting a mutiny...  
Gaia: See, I told you...they get out of control...  
Duo: JUSTICE! HONOR!  
Shi: Dear God, how can I work with you people...?  
  
  
Please keep reading! Love you all! ^_~   
  
~Shi 


	12. The Friendship Test

Rockman.EXE is not mine. Don't sue.   
________________________  
  
Us After This  
Chapter 12  
_~by Shimegami-chan_  
  
Author's Note: Please, please, please remember to review! If you have nothing constructive to say, feed my ego!!  
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_"Fight with me again, Saito-niisan!"  
_~Hikari Netto, _Rockman EXE  
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_

  
  
  
"Glyde, have that link traced back to the PC," Yaito instructed as she squeezed Meiru's hand comfortingly. "We'll go right to the source."   
  
Dekao clenched his fist. "Gutsman, get as many allies as you can. Find Iceman, Numberman, Blues...whatever it takes. Without Netto and Rockman we're going to have a tough time."   
  
"Netto...somebody find him," Meiru managed to choke out. "He...needs to know what happened..."   
  
Dekao and his partner exchanged a look. "I'll do it. Gutsman--be careful."   
  
"You too, de gutsu."   
  
"I'll be back." Dekao ran downstairs and Yaito heard the front door bang shut. Meiru continued to cry.   
  
Glyde's voice drifted out of her PET. "Yaito-sama, the trace is underway. It will take some time. Meiru-san, please don't be sad, we'll rescue Roll-san very quickly. Just wait."   
  
"I know..." Meiru wiped the back of her hand across her eyes.   
  
A moment of silence passed, and the door opened and closed again. Dekao appeared, breathing heavily. "There's no one there. He must be out."   
  
"I hope he wasn't attacked too," Yaito said worriedly.   
  
"There's no way to know, without Rockman." Dekao was beginning to find that Rockman's loss was affecting them all more and more as time passed. Netto simply wasn't acting _normal_ lately, as well as the absence of a Navi putting him out of contact. "Yaito-chan, we should probably go back to your house and get more help."   
  
"Good idea. Meiru-chan, are you all right?"   
  
"I'll be fine." Meiru got to her feet, steadying herself on the desk. "Let's go get Roll back."   
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
  
"Well, now what?" Netto patted his stomach, where a banana split (and technically a chocolate parfait) had just made his day a lot more tolerable. "What did you think of that?"   
  
"That was really great, Netto-kun!" Saito said excitedly. "I've never had anything like it. I think I could get used to this 'taste' thing."   
  
"You needed it, feeding me instant ramen and Sakurai-san's cooking all week."   
  
"I liked that too."   
  
"Don't worry, that's just because you haven't had anything else. You'll have to try Mama's meat spaghetti sometime."   
  
"Okay!"   
  
Netto sat back against the booth, laying his hands flat on the table. He turned one over slowly and closed the fingers into a fist, then opened them again. He wiggled his fingers a bit and cocked his head.   
  
"What are you doing?" Saito questioned.   
  
"Just looking," Netto replied. "Have you ever watched your own hands move? It was so weird watchng you move mine earlier."   
  
"I've had plenty of opportunity now," Saito declared. "Netto-kun...you're not resentful of the situation we're in...are you?"   
  
"I could have done without Papa getting shot," Netto replied bitterly. "And I can't say I wouldn't mind having my body to myself all the time. But I don't resent you being here. If it wasn't for this...this synchro, you wouldn't be alive."   
  
"I don't know what to say, but...well...thanks. I'm glad we're both okay. And if you ever want me out, I'm out. I promise."   
  
"I'd never ask you to do that," Netto said with a frown. "We're partners, through and through."   
  
"Thanks."   
  
"Anytime. Now...how about walking around Densan a bit? Heading over to Miyuki's?"   
  
"Okay, that'll be interesting." With Netto in control, the twins left the ice cream shop and headed to Densan Block One, crossing the streets through underground walkways. "This brings back memories of the fight with Coloredman."   
  
"I'll say. This time you're walking on the streets instead of inside the stoplights, though."   
  
"Good thing," Saito laughed. "That's not an experience I'd like to repeat."   
  
They entered the shop, and Netto greeted the attendant. "Hey, Miyuki-san!"   
  
"Netto-kun." Miyuki seemed surprised to see him; she was standing at the register talking to Skullman through her PET. "I'm surprised you're not with your friends. Have you heard what's happened?"   
  
"Something happened?" Netto stiffened. Maybe Meiru had been attacked again, or Yaito, or Dekao...?   
  
"Yes." Miyuki's dark eyes fixed intently on him. "Something's happened to you too, hasn't it? There's another presence in your aura."   
  
"Well, that is..."   
  
Miyuki smiled. "Good, that's good. I'd like to know more later. As for now...I think you should know that Roll's been kidnapped."   
  
Saito could not control his outburst. "_What?_ Roll-chan!?"   
  
Miyuki nodded gravely. "By Navis belonging to the men who attacked you and your father, it seems. Gutsman has asked Skullman and I for our assistance."   
  
"Where are they?" Netto demanded. "Where's Meiru-chan?"   
  
"One moment." She changed the sign in the shop window from 'Open' to 'Closed' and disconnected her PET from the register. "Skullman has just received directions from Glyde. It seems the PC we are looking for is here in Densan."   
  
"Here?" Saito looked pleased. "Good, we can get to them quickly."   
  
"Block Three of the city," Miyuki confirmed, shooing him out the door. "Come. We're likely to arrive there first, so be on your guard."   
  
Netto followed Miyuki through the streets of Densan, again taking the underground sidewalks. He didn't know how Miyuki knew about Rockman, but it was a good opportunity to speak to his partner without having to explain to her. "Are you okay?"   
  
As predicted, Miyuki didn't even bat an eye. Saito's reply came a moment later, though Netto still controlled his body. "I'm worried about Roll-chan. They wouldn't delete her, would they?"   
  
"They're probably using her as a hostage to get to us."   
  
"I know..."   
  
"They probably don't know what happened to you. Us." Miyuki shushed him as they approached a tall apartment building in Block Three. "Is this it?"   
  
"Glyde says that the computer link was traced back to an apartment on the top floor. We should probably wait for your friends, however. Skullman tells me that Gutsman has called Woodman and some others to assist."   
  
"But it's no good to wait," Netto insisted. "Someone has to get into the apartment and let the others in."   
  
"That's right," Saito agreed.   
  
Even at this Miyuki did not look surprised. "Take care, then. I'll do what I can to help, but if there's someone else in the residence you may be in trouble."   
  
"I can't afford to wait," Saito said breathlessly. He led the body they shared inside the main door and up five flights of stairs to the roof, emerging into the afternoon sunlight on the rickety old building.   
  
"You're more agile than me," Netto said. "This is your department."   
  
"Then it's a good thing I've been learning how to move all week," the ex-Navi replied. He ran to the edge of the roof and clamoured over the waist-high concrete block onto a ledge jutting out about a foot. Miyuki had retreated into the shadowed alleyway below; she looked up at him but did not speak.   
  
Gingerly Saito moved along the narrow path until he was directly above a windowsill, lowering himself with strength he hadn't known he'd possessed onto a tiny block of wood at the top. From there he moved down onto the windowsill itself, and discovered another piece of wood propping the glass open.   
  
There were no curtains covering the window, and luckily the room into which it opened was deserted. Slowly Saito pushed the glass up and snaked inside, giving Miyuki a final wave. He let the window shut on the block of wood again.   
  
The room was dingy and mostly empty, save for an old couch and television, and a pile of clothes in the corner. Saito pressed his back against the wall and moved toward the door, hoping to find evidence of the apartment being deserted without actually having to leave. To his dismay, there were no sounds coming from elsewhere in the rooms, or they were too muffled for him to make out. He dared not open the door.   
  
At the very least they could warn Miyuki. Saito turned back to the the window, jolting in surprise when a pair of booted feet appeared on the sill. Silently, almost effortlessly, Ijuuin Enzan slid the window open and let himself inside. "Hikari. Good, nothing's happened to you."   
  
Saito pressed his finger to his lips and gestured at the door. Enzan lowered his already-quiet voice. "Your friends are outside. It might be wise if you allowed Blues to send them a message."   
  
Saito nodded in reply and took Enzan's PET, keying in a quick message on the word processor. _Can't tell if there are people home. PC is not in this room. Do you have a plan? -Hikari_   
  
Wordlessly, Blues sent the memo. Less than a moment later Glyde appeared on the screen and displayed several lines of text. _Yaito-sama, Meiru-san, and Dekao-san are already inside. They intend to provide a distraction so that Meiru-san can gain access to the PC. _   
  
Netto wanted to shake his head in disbelief, but his twin was still in control. Before he could write a reply, another message appeared. _Do you want us to call the police? I'm linking Woodman to Ijuuin's PET now. -Saloma_   
  
It was followed a moment later by another, and another.   
  
_Police! Hah! We can handle this. My Sharkman will tear the bastards apart. I'm sending him too. -Masa_   
  
_We have no proof as of yet. If the Navis find Roll, then we should, and they should contact the Net Police as well. My Skullman is with you. -Miyuki_   
  
Saito smiled grimly.   
  
_Iceman is with you. -Hikawa_   
  
_The chances of winning are low, but Numberman and I will help as best we can. -Higure_   
  
Saito tapped out a quick message. _Thanks everyone. Enzan will plug-in and send the Navis into the computer, then we'll try to help the others. -Hikari_   
  
The six Navis who didn't belong returned momentarily to their own PETs with his message, and Blues disappeared as well, presumably forwarding it to Dekao. Within a minute they were all back, along with Gutsman, who bore a message of his own. _We're outside the door now. Dekao-kun has a plan, so be ready to find the PC and plug-in. -Meiru_   
  
"I don't think I want to know what a plan Dekao would made up would look like," Netto said softly, directing the comment more toward his brother than Enzan.   
  
The doorbell rang.   
  
"_That's_ his plan?" Saito hissed.   
  
"Come on." Enzan took Saito by the sleeve and they crept to the door, listening to a set of feet walk from one room of the apartment to another. Saito pushed open the door and peeked outside.   
  
A cry of outrage met their ears along with the sound of pounding feet, and Saito knew instinctively that Dekao had somehow lured the owner _out_ of the house altogether. He ran into the hallway and began to check each room, joined by Enzan a moment later.   
  
"In here, Hikari," Enzan snapped, slipping into a room that had had its door closed. "There's a PC."   
  
Saito followed the white-haired boy and waited until he had successfully plugged his PET into the computer before edging out again, closing the door again behind him. Meiru had said she was coming in. What had happened to the others?   
  
At the end of the hallway was a small kitchen, and attached to that, a porch. The flat's door was left wide open, but as Saito was about to move closer a tall man appeared in it. "I saw you run in here! Where are you, kid!?"   
  
_Shit._ Saito stepped back into the room he'd entered through again, pulling the door almost-closed. Where was Meiru? Was she safe?   
  
As if as an answer to his unspoken question, a female scream echoed through the apartment, and Saito heard a scuffle outside. Breathing deep, he opened the door and was immediately run over by a blur of yelling pink and blonde. Yaito landed a punch on his chest before recognizing her attacker. "Hikari-kun!"   
  
"Shh!" Saito grabbed her by the waist and retreated back into the room, closing the door again. "What's going on out there!?"   
  
Yaito looked smug. "We rang the doorbell and threw eggs at the guy that opened it. He ran off after Dekao-kun and Meiru-chan and I got inside, but I think he came back and caught us."   
  
Sure enough, a familiar voice started to bellow from the kitchen. "I know there's someone still in here, so give yourself up or I'll hurt her!"   
  
Saito froze, uncertain how to handle the situation, and wordlessly handed control back to Netto.   
  
It seemed the brunette Hikari had a plan, or the beginnings of one. "Yaito-chan, I want you to hide in that closet, and have the others call the police. Get in touch with Enzan, and find out whether they've found Roll. I'm going to rescue Meiru-chan."   
  
"Are you sure that'll work?"   
  
_"Come out right now, or I'll kill her!"_   
  
"_Hide! _And tell Enzan to do that same!" Netto insisted.   
  
"O-okay!" Yaito backed off and ran to the small closet, squeezing inside. Grimly Netto stepped into the hall.   
  
He was met by Server, who had started opening doors one by one. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Hikari Netto himeself. That was the dumbest thing you could have done, kid."   
  
The craggy face leered menacingly at him. "Welcome to your Hell."   
  
  
  
  
  
  
----------------------------   
  
synchro - an obvious reference to the manga. :P   
  
the "I am with you," scene was a whacked-out reference to the Witches of Dathomir. :P   
  
meat spaghetti - reference to EXE anime episode 23 :P Yuuichirou _raves_ over Haruka's meat spaghetti.   
  
More suffix-guessing in this chapter. Wasn't sure what Saloma would call Enzan; decided on 'Ijuuin' in the end. Watch for potho--er, plotholes. Chose the allies from Battle Network 1 only, because I'm not done 2 so I don't know who becomes helpful. Too bad Dekao's gonna miss the next scene--maybe I'll find a way to write him in. Maybe he'll make a heroic rescue attempt as filler, since I was SUPPOSED to write the upcoming climax into this chapter, not the next. I was too busy fussing over the ice cream again. Saito-kun needed it anyway. And they'll damn well need some bonding and closure before what's gonna happen in the NEXT chapter.   
  
(Anime-Style) Preview:   
  
Netto: Meiru-chan's been captured! Dekao too!?  
Rockman: Be careful, Netto-kun! Server is a strong guy!  
Netto: Enzan, just what the hell happened to you?  
Rockman: I can do this myself. I won't let them hurt you!  
Netto: ...Rockman! Are you there? ROCKMAN!  
Rockman: Netto-kun, please don't die!  
Netto: Saito....-niisan...  
Next time on Rockman.EXE!  
"Join Me In Death."  
Rockman: Netto-kun~! Don't do this!  



	13. Join Me In Death

Rockman.EXE is not mine. Don't sue.

________________________

Us After This

Chapter 13

__

~by Shimegami-chan

http://www.shimegami.com/ichijouji

Author's Note: You can always tell when I'm finishing a serial, because the last chapter is always a billion times longer than the others. -_- Please, please, please remember to review! If you have nothing constructive to say, feed my ego!!

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__

"Won't you die tonight for love?"

~HIM, _Join Me ~In Death~_

_________________________________________

Mutely Netto allowed himself to be led into the apartment's kitchen, sat on a chair beside Meiru, and tied tightly with ropes. He was relieved to see that Meiru hadn't been hurt, though her face was damp and red with tears of frustration.

"I suppose I underestimated you, kid," Server said as he tied the last rope. "I wasn't expecting you to find me so fast. But no matter, I've got what I want now."

"Then let Meiru-chan and Roll go," Netto said firmly.

"Sorry, can't do that," he smirked. "I'll need them as insurance. I also need to catch the bigger one that ran away earlier, so if you'll excuse me--" he opened the door and stepped outside, "--I doubt he's so cowardly as to have left you, so I'll bring him back here for a nice reunion."

With that the tall man shut the door, and Netto heard the click of the deadbolt turning behind him. Server was gone.

"I do hope you have a plan," Saito commented dryly.

"Of course I do. We stall and try not to get killed while Blues and Enzan rescue Roll. Then Enzan and Yaito-chan save us and Saloma-san brings the police to arrest this guy."

"...Why am I thinking that you haven't quite thought this out?" Meiru groaned.

Netto blinked. "Did you want me to call for Enzan? We can jump Server when he comes back if you'd rather that."

"No, but we'd better be careful. This guy's crazy." She raised her voice. "Yaito-chan, are you all right?"

"I'm okay," the blonde's muffled voice returned.

"Good, stay where you are unless we call for you," Netto instructed. "Enzan! What about you?"

No answer came, and Saito turned his head towards the hallway. "Enzan?"

"He wouldn't abandon us, would he?" the brunette twin asked.

"You never know, with that guy..." the ex-Navi replied.

Before they could exchange any more words, the lock clicked and Server entered again, with a meek Dekao. "As I predicted, this one was easy to convince to follow me back."

"You _surrendered_?" Netto asked incredulously.

"He's got a knife," Meiru warned. "That's how he caught me too." Sure enough, as Server led Dekao to a chair Netto spotted a large kitchen knife in his right hand. 

"I didn't want to leave you guys," Dekao said miserably. "I thought something bad happened to Meiru-chan." Thankfully, he forgot or didn't mention Yaito. Maybe they still had a chance to get out of this.

"Now, Hikari Netto..." Server turned the twins' chair around and dragged it into the middle of the room, where he inspected the teen carefully. "I think it'd be much more fun to do this in front of your friends. I had planned on having Snides kill you quickly," his grin was malicious, "but since you thwarted that attempt, I'll have to kill you slowly now. I do hope you've felt plenty of pain already these last few weeks."

Netto didn't reply, eyes flashing with anger. Server continued. "I won a few rounds though. Your Navi and your father--losing them was tough, wasn't it? I think that's ample payback for the positions we lost when World Three broke up. You ruined my _life_, Hikari Netto. Would you like to hear about it?"

"Not if it means you're going to be some cheesy comic book villain with a tragic past," Netto sneered back. "I've had to deal with _plenty_ of you guys already."

Surprisingly, Server smiled. "You're annoying, kid, but you've got spunk. I was in Wily-sama's infiltration division--the tech team that created the Life Virus. I was head of that group--designing viruses is what I do best."

"Then it _was_ you," Saito spat, momentarily taking over. "How?"

"Oh, you're curious now!" Server laughed. "It was the simplest kind of technology. I merely sent it as an unaddressed email attachment. It attacks executable files, of course, so when your Navi opened the email it targeted his program."

"I do remember that..." Saito said slowly. "An email that said it was from Papa, with a large file size, but no message. I thought it was odd."

"Can you imagine?" Server grinned. "Of course virus scanners became obsolete when Navis were invented. It's so ironic that a Navi could be infected by the very viruses it's trying to destroy!"

Saito's eyes narrowed and he glared at Server. "That's low."

"Well, of course." Server's grin was manic. "After the Life Virus was destroyed, I lost everything. My job, my family--my wife threw me out when she found out I'd been working for World Three. Snides and I moved in here and designed our own virus--the Higurashi virus, we called it. It was a simple matter of infecting your Navi and deleting it. I know you two were good friends, so I hope it was nice and painful."

Netto's nostrils flared. Painful hadn't been the _word_--there was no way this guy could have known about the twin link between him and Rockman. Netto knew firsthand exactly what it felt like to have the cells of his body pulled apart.

"Then Snides got caught. Now I've lost my ally and best friend too, just like you." Server sounded almost sad. "So it's very handy that you're here where I can take ample revenge. You can go ahead and say good-bye to your girlfriend if you like."

Netto blinked. What was this psycho going to _do_? Maybe screaming for Enzan might be an idea after all, but he wasn't sure whether Blues and the others had rescued Roll. "Uh...I don't think I'm going anywhere...?"

"We'll see. Now, where shall I start...?" He opened a drawer and extracted another kitchen knife, a smaller one. "This one will do. Don't worry, I want you to feel plenty of this, so, I won't kill you too fast." He approached Netto and traced a line down the boy's cheek with the knife, opening a shallow cut. Netto did not wince.

"A strong one." 

He nodded with approval and moved to do it again, but was stopped by an angry scream from Meiru. _"Don't touch him!"_

Server turned. "Would you rather I killed you first? I'd love for him to feel a bit more pain before he went."

Meiru hushed, but he used a strip of cloth to gag her regardless before returning to Netto. "Where were we? I don't want you to bleed to death before I have my fun, so I'll try something else." He loosened the ropes just slightly, and then leaned back to punch Netto in the face. The force of the blow knocked the chair to the floor, and knocked all breath from Netto's body. Before he had time to recover Server had drawn back his foot to deliver a sharp kick to the stomach. Netto closed his eyes and waited for the rush of pain.

None came. When his vision cleared Server was grinning crazily at him again, and his body was doubled over with a pain he couldn't feel. His twin had taken over.

"Rock," Netto gasped, for Saito had withdrawn from their speech centres, as he always did. "What are you doing?"

"The least I can do," Saito answered grimly. "I'm protecting you. I won't stay back and let you get hurt."

He earned puzzled glances from Dekao and Server, who leaned down to hear the whispered conversation. "You talking to me, kid? Or are you prayin' yet?"

"Counting the ways I'm going to get you thrown in jail once we get out of here, bastard," Netto retorted.

"Netto-kun, don't make him angrier," Saito snapped.

Unfortunately, the comment had the effect the more levelheaded twin had expected. "You won't be _getting_ out of here, Hikari," Server bellowed, kicking him hard in the stomach. Saito folded over in pain.

"Netto!" Dekao cried out, struggling to get out of the ropes holding him. 

"It's okay," Saito rasped. "I can take much more than this." Server chose that moment to cut the ropes that bound him, picked the limp boy up easily, and flung him into a wall. Saito's head hit the plaster hard enough to dent before his body dropped heavily to the ground. 

Meiru thrashed furiously against her bonds, to no avail. Saito leaned on his elbows for support, trying to take in a breath before the next attack. _Fight. I've got to fight back._ Grimacing, he gathered his energy and sprang at Server, knocking the bigger man to the floor. Stars swam in front of Saito's eyes but he continued to pummel Server with everything he had.

Enraged, Server lashed out with a kick to the stomach that stopped Saito cold again. Netto was trying to encourage or stop him, but the ex-Navi had control of every body function they shared. "You little bastard!" Server growled. "I shouldn't have taken my time!" He hauled Saito to his feet and threw the boy hard into the kitchen table, the weak wood collapsing under his weight. 

"Netto-kun, I'm sorry..." Saito finally released control of their speech centres, grunting in pain. "I've got to protect you..."

"Rockman, no! I don't want you hurt anymore!" 

"Sorry...oniisan..." Saito grinned. "I said I would, and I will. I'll fight to my last breath."

"Hit your head too hard, did you, kid?" Server was watching the exchange with a grin. "Your last breath? What an excellent idea that is!" He leaned down and lifted Saito up by his shirt collar. "I think we've played enough. Let's shut you up so you don't struggle." Easily he dropped the boy to the hard floor, wincing slightly as Saito's head hit the floor with a sharp crack. The twins' vision blurred nauseatingly.

When it cleared, Netto's head throbbed with pain, and he realized that he was back in control. "R-Rock?"

No answer. His twin's consciousness had retreated, either in self-defense or in system shutdown. He was on his own. Netto staggered to his feet, bracing himself against the pain, and leaned backward against the wall. "You're going to pay for that."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Blues yawned tiredly as he slashed through another row of viruses. "This is getting quite annoying, Enzan-sama."

"Keep it up, Blues. Just delete the Navis and get the girl."

"Fine, fine." Mouse had finally stepped in front of Blues, sword drawn, and attacked. "_Now_ this'll get interesting."

"Don't underestimate me," Mouse laughed, dodging quickly.

Blues cocked his head. "I'm beginning to think that I _over_estimated you."

Mouse's smile was menacing. "I'll delete you in half a second, kid. Come on, I'll even let you attack first."

"_Mega Guts Punch!_" The attack literally tore the Navi in half, deleting it before it had time to scream.

Blues glared at Gutsman. "I really don't see why you bothered to ask me along."

"Something's happening out here, Blues," Enzan warned. "It sounds like they're trashing the apartment."

"We don't have Roll-chan yet!" Gutsman insisted. Roll was locked in an electric cage guarded by rows of high-level viruses. Skullman and Woodman were quickly trouncing them, but there were a huge number of enemies to fight. 

As Gutsman watched, however, one Navi managed to get close to the cage. Iceman had somehow gotten through the small army of Mettoru and to Roll, where he quickly froze and broke the lock. Roll got out of the cage and stood beside him, facing rows of enemies.

"I'll get her," Blues said calmly, slashing a path through the viruses with his sword. He grabbed the female Navi and jumped high, landing beside Gutsman and handing him to her. "Watch her. I'll start deleting the information this guy stole from Hikari."

__

"Roll Flash!"

"Mega Guts Punch!"

"Blizzard!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Netto began his attack by throwing cutlery.

Server stared. "Kid, I'm getting tired of you now. You can't possibly think--awkk!" He was razed in the cheek by a flying fork. Furious brown eyes met grey. "You're going to regret that."

"We'll see. Nya!" Netto lobbed another butter knife at the sputtering man, catching him in the arm. It couldn't have hurt much, but it made him even angrier. 

"Have it your way--I'll kill the girl!" Server picked up the kitchen knife from before and held it to Meiru's throat, grinning menacingly. "Now put down the knives and come here."

Obligingly Netto dropped the pilfered cutlery, praying Enzan would appear to help. Once he was close enough to touch Server grabbed him by the shirt and held him in a headlock, turning on the water in the kitchen sink with his left hand. He shoved the plug into the drain.

"You're pathetic," Netto spat finally, too spent to struggle. "You'd kill a kid and a great scientist because you lost your job. You don't deserve anything as good as jail."

"I'll never need to go to jail," Server pronounced, waiting until the sink had filled to the top before turning off the water. "Once I get rid of you and those two, there'll be no one to implicate me. Your Navi will be deleted, hers will soon, and Hikari will die in the hospital. I should have finished the job long ago."

"You won't lay a hand on my father, bastard," Netto retorted. Server replied by shoving the teenager's head into the sink full of cold water and holding it there.

Netto thrashed wildly, caught off-guard. He held his breath and tried to lash out at Server, but his arms were secured behind his back by the bigger man. He could hear Dekao yelling, though the sound was muffled. His eyes and ears burned in the icy water.

__

I'm going to die, Netto suddenly realized. _I've just killed us both. I'm sorry, Rock... Meiru, Dekao... this is my fault. Maybe Enzan will save them once I'm gone. That idiot, just where is he!?_

Mama...Papa... I'm sorry... you're losing two sons this time. Please, stay safe...

Rockman...

Unable to hold his breath any longer, Netto passed out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I think we're out of time." Enzan was unable to ignore the screams coming from the kitchen any longer. "Blues, have one of the others contact the police, if they haven't already. I think something's happened to Hikari."

"Right away, Enzan-sama."

"Plug-out." He disconnected his PET and crept to the door, opening it quietly. From the kitchen came splashing sounds and a girl crying, as well as that Dekao boy screaming obscenities. Enzan had a bad feeling that he'd waited too long.

Sure enough, Server was standing with his back to Ijuuin, and appeared to have just pulled Hikari out of a sink full of water. "That was much too easy." He tossed the limp body to the floor. "Kind of ruins the fun, doesn't it?"

The floor was littered with knives of all types, and Enzan grabbed one and cut through the ropes holding the bigger boy captive before Server turned around. With a growl, Dekao launched himself at Server, sending them both crashing to the ground.

Enzan cut the ropes binding Meiru, and she tore the gag from her mouth. "Get out of here," he instructed. "Run to the others. I'll take care of him."

"I can't!" she cried, dropping to her knees beside the blue-faced Hikari. "What about Netto? He's not breathing!"

Enzan knelt beside the boy as well, applying pressure to his ribcage and pumping rhythmically to draw the water out. Some of the water was expelled from Netto's lungs by Enzan's ministrations, but he did not breathe. Enzan put an ear against the boy's still chest. A few seconds later he looked up and reported gravely, "His heart's stopped."

Elsewhere in the kitchen, Dekao had, in a fit of rage, managed to knock Server's head against a cupboard hard enough to render him unconscious. He too crawled to Netto's side.

"Yaito-chan!" Meiru screamed. "Yaito-chan, come quick!"

Enzan heard some scuffling, but he did not turn, instead attempting CPR on Hikari Netto. Yaito joined the group a moment later. "Hikari-kun..."

"Server held his head underwater for over three minutes," Dekao said disgustedly. "Right in front of us."

"Where the hell were you, Ijuuin!?" Yaito snapped as Enzan raised his head again. 

"Saving your Navis. Hikari _did_ tell me that he could handle it. Oh, and I suggest someone call an ambulance. I can't revive him."

"He's not breathing," Meiru said softly.

Yaito looked horrified. "He's _dead_?"

Meiru let out a choked scream and was yanked backward, a knife pressed tightly to her throat. 

"He'd better be," Server said in a low voice. "And you don't have much longer yourselves."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Netto awoke suddenly in a dark room, so black that he couldn't see his hands in front of his face. He was without pain; really, couldn't feel much of _anything_--he shivered a bit in the cold, spotting a light up ahead. "Where am I?"

Netto got to his feet and stepped forward, his step light, almost ethereal. He felt as though he could float off the ground. "What's happened to me? Am I dead?"

He started to walk towards the light, but tripped over something on the floor and fell atop it. A body, still breathing, but asleep or unconscious. He--for the person had to be a he, with a flat chest and short, spiked hair--was radiating heat, and Netto tried to pick the other boy up and carry him to the light source to get a better look.

The unconscious boy was light, as light as Netto himself felt, and seemed to rise and fall limply against Netto's shoulder. 

Idly, Netto started to talk to his passenger as he walked. "I guess I must be dead, since the last thing I remember was drowning. That's not an experience I'd like to repeat. Maybe we're in purgatory or something, because I don't think this is the afterlife. Yet.

"You're probably dead too, just haven't woken up here yet. We might be spirits. Heh." Netto trailed off, unsure what to say to the sleeping stranger, and not quite comfortable with his own position yet. "I'll probably just drag you up to the light-thingie and wait for you to wake up."

He fell silent for a few moments, hugging the unconscious boy against him, trying to absorb some of his warmth, until the light became bright enough to blind him when he looked directly into it. He laid the other boy down on the floor and turned him over.

The face was his own.

Netto drew back sharply. "...Me?" There was no mistaking it; round-cheeked and brunette, this was the face Netto saw in the mirror every morning. "But how?"

Wearing nothing but a plain black bodysuit, not even the headband Netto was never seen without, the boy was relaxed in peaceful slumber, his features slack. His mouth hinted at the beginnings of a smile, as though he were having a pleasant dream.

Still, Netto's curiosity got the better of him, as usual. "Hey--wake up." He shook the boy slightly, but he didn't respond. "Netto--er, hey, you. Come on, talk to me." 

The other Netto stirred and opened his eyes slowly. They were a rich chocolate-brown, and they blinked sleepily at him. "Netto-kun?"

"Eh?" That hadn't been what Netto was expecting. But he had heard that inflection in his own voice many times lately; and it was becoming so familiar that there was only one person that could have made it. "Rockman?"

"Wait a minute, where are we?" Saito sat up quickly, casting a horrified glance at his twin. "Why are we _both_ here?"

"I, um, think we're dead, actually..."

"It can't be! What happened? The last thing I remember is Server dropping me, and me hitting my head. I think my program withdrew itself."

"Yeah, I attacked Server after that, but he filled up the sink and held my head underwater until I passed out. I don't know what happened after that."

"Netto-kun, you're so _cold!_" Saito held his twin's freezing fingers in his own, trying to rub warmth into them. "I don't understand this; where are we? If we really _are_ dead..."

"No idea. There's the cliché dark room and bright light; maybe we're supposed to go that way...?"

"But we can't just give up...who knows what will happen to Dekao and Meiru! They're helpless!"

"But what can we do?"

Saito closed his eyes. "I can still feel...my mind is still connected to all those links I had before. There's no way this can be real, Netto-kun. Maybe I'm dreaming this."

"If you are, I'm having the same dream. What do those links do?"

"A lot of things. They were what hooked my consciousness to the computer systems." Still holding his brother's hands in his own, Saito tilted his head back. "There's something wrong with the system. It's gone almost completely dead."

"I died," Netto said gravely. "I knew it."

"There has to be a way to reverse it. I'm still in there, after all!" Saito concentrated, trying to reintegrate his own program into the networks. "I can flush the system, and try and figure out why we can't get back into it."

"Okay." Netto stood quietly and watched his twin work, manipulating the computer systems with his mind.

When Saito opened his eyes again, however, they were a brilliant green. "I'm back in the computer system, and I think I've found the problem. My security programming deactivated your heart monitors back when we first merged. Your heart has stopped, and the computers are shut down."

"Shut down...?"

"I'm restarting them," he said slowly, gripping Netto's hands tighter. "Netto...what do you see?"

"Um...the Net? It's like the inside of my PC when I'm looking in at you. A lot of blue, lots of circuits. And you. It's pretty dark, but there's an annoying light not far away."

"All right."

"What do _you_ see?"

"Right now? Only darkness. I'm sure my eyes are open, but I can't see anything, and I can barely feel. I'm lying down on my stomach, but it's like I'm reaching through the floor and you're holding my hands. Don't let go, Netto-kun."

"Darkness?" Puzzled, Netto leaned closer, and sure enough Saito's eyes did not move or blink. They stared blankly, his facial features once again relaxed.

__

Systems are online.

"Rock?" Saito's mouth hadn't moved.

__

Yes?

"I can hear you in my head. What's happening?"

__

I'm not sure. All systems seem to be running correctly, though. The diagnostics say you're breathing and your heart is beating normally.

"Then why--"

__

Your hands are getting warmer. Don't let go of me yet.

It was true; Netto felt a lot less cold than he had a moment before. "I'm starting to feel really dizzy."

__

I think you're waking up.

Netto braced himself, forcing himself to watch Saito in front of him. The other boy's green eyes fell closed and he pitched forward into Netto's arms. Netto caught him easily and lowered them both to the blue floor, hugging him close. "This might be the only time I ever get to do this. Thanks...Saito-niisan..."

__

Netto-kun...

Netto struggled to keep his eyes open, struggled to stay in the pleasant vision--for at last he knew for certain that it _was_ a vision, and soon it would be gone--but there was a force pulling him from far away, and he finally collapsed again with Saito held tightly in his arms.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I've had enough of this," Server said angrily, jabbing the tip of the knife into the side of Meiru's neck. "You brats couldn't leave well enough alone! Just where the hell did you all come from anyway!?"

Enzan hung back, his face cold. Yaito was crying quietly at Dekao's side, his arm on her shoulder, his other hand clenched in a fist.

The doorbell rang.

Server's face hardened. "I want you all to come into one of the other rooms," he said quietly. "If you make a sound, I'll kill her. Come on--keep facing me. Move."

Yaito, Dekao, and Enzan backed into the hall, Enzan in front. Server grimaced and kicked Netto's body to turn it face-up. "One of you come here and drag him in here."

Neither of the kids made a move. Server scowled and pulled the knife away from Meiru's throat. "You--pick him up."

Meiru, horrified, tried to comply. She bent and slipped her arms under Netto's, dragging him awkwardly to his feet. Server nodded. "You make a pretty good hostage. I'm almost sorry your little friend there had to piss me off. I might have spared you." He smiled condescendingly, angling his head to look at the body of the boy he had killed.

Netto's eyes snapped open.

With a howl of rage he lunged at Server, catching the tall man completely off-guard and knocking the knife to the floor. "What the hell--!"

"Somebody get the door!" Saito yelled. "Dekao, help me!"

Yaito, shocked, ran past the fight to the front door, while Dekao and Enzan moved to help Saito.

"Jesus, Hikari, I thought you were dead," Enzan gasped, wrenching Server's arm behind his back.

"We were," Saito said grimly.

Dekao grunted, shoving Server against the wall and holding him there. "We?"

"I'll explain later."

Less than a minute later the boys were pushed aside by police officers who snapped handcuffs onto Server's wrists, and dragged him out of the apartment. As he was led away he cast a final glance at Saito. "I don't know how the hell you did that, kid, but when I get out, you'll be paying with your life."

"That's an idle threat by now," Saito said tiredly, bracing himself against the wall. His body felt tired and worn, and his head swam. "Netto-kun? Can you hear me?"

No answer. Saito prayed his twin had lived, but he had no way to tell. Meiru scrambled to his side. "Netto! I'm so glad you're okay!"

Saito shook his head sadly, though he leaned heavily against her. "No... I'm not... Meiru-chan..."

"Rockman?" Meiru steadied herself under his weight, keeping him from falling to the ground.

"If I don't make it... tell Roll-chan I'm sorry... I couldn't help...."

"You aren't... you did everything you could! You saved all of us!"

"Listen to me Meiru... I thought I fixed the computers... please make sure Netto-kun's okay... and thank him for the ice cream..."

"Ice cream?" The pink-haired girl blinked in confusion.

"Tell him how much he meant to me... and I'm sorry..."

"Rock, don't apologize! Listen, you can wait for Netto! Don't go!"

"I can't," he said tiredly. "I can feel my program shutting down. I used everything I had getting the heart monitor going, and now there's nothing left for me."

By now the scene had captured the attention of the others, who were crowding around Saito and Meiru.

Saito lifted his head, though it took a tremendous amount of effort, and met Meiru's eyes. "Tell Roll-chan good-bye for me..."

"Rockman..."

With that, his eyes closed and he fell forward into her arms. "An ambulance," Meiru gasped. "Call an ambulance, quick!"

"There's one outside that came with the police," Saloma said. "Just what happened to him?"

"There's an aura missing," Miyuki said softly. "One of them is gone."

----------------------------------------

higurashi - for you, Spice :)

i finally got my JoinMeInDeath reference :P

thanks to Gaia, Spice and Goldy for help with this chapter...

huge huge huge thanks to Gaia-chan and her muses for editing/HTMLing this for me...you're a lifesaver. As usual. :)

epilogue tomorrow soon, I hope....


	14. Ashes to Ashes

Rockman.EXE is not mine. Don't sue.

________________________

Us After This

Chapter 14

__

~by Shimegami-chan

Author's Note: May be a short epilogue to follow. I need some closure here. x.x

________________________

_________________________________________

__

"I was waiting for you 

Waiting for all my life 

And I'm not going to 

Lose you tonight."

~HIM, _Lose You Tonight_

_________________________________________

"Netto...Netto, wake up..."

Someone was calling him.

Blearily Netto opened his eyes, wincing sharply at the bright lights his eyelids had been concealing. A white room with lights; excited voices.

"Netto!" Meiru was upon him in a second. "You're awake! I'm so glad!"

"Meiru-chan...?" Netto tried to sit up and was overcome by a wave of nausea.

"You're in the hospital again," a deeper voice said. "Seems you got yourself into more trouble."

"_Papa!_" Netto's mouth dropped open in shock. Hikari Yuuichirou was alive and well, though he looked tired. "You're all right!"

"You've been sleeping for nearly a week, Netto," Yuuichirou said gently. "I'm still recovering too. But while you've been here, Server and his partner Snides are in a jail cell, awaiting trial."

"We'll give you some privacy," the medical doctor said, leaving the room.

"But--if I've been sleeping for a week, why didn't Rock just take over...?" Netto propped himself up against the bed's pillows, running a hand through his messy brown hair. "Rockman?"

No answer came. Silence hung heavily in the air. "Netto...I don't think Saito-kun made it..." Meiru finally said, her voice a whisper. The use of his twin's real name was like a blow to Netto's stomach.

"What...? How could that happen, if he was in me?"

"He asked me to tell you some things, before he passed out that last time...he wanted me to tell you how much you meant to him, and to thank you. He mentioned something about ice cream... He seemed to think that he wouldn't be coming back."

"For the ice cream..." The memory was like a knife stab. Netto forced back tears. "But Papa, you're okay now! Can't he be reprogrammed?"

"I already have. We were waiting for you to wake up so we could transfer it out of your implant. You have to know first, Netto, that the way I programmed Rockman... it can't be duplicated so easily. That's why he was unique. He might not be the same. And besides, I don't think you're up to that just yet--"

"--I am!" Netto finished. "I have to make sure he's okay. Do it now, please, Papa!"

Yuuichirou glanced behind him at the door, then reluctantly took out his PET. "Emdee, I want you to initialize the Stage Two transfer. Remove all traces of Rockman.EXE and Saito.BAT from the medical systems--they'll be dormant, of course, since the heart monitor is functioning again. Transfer them to the drone and then link back to my PET." Netto lifted his nightshirt and Yuuichirou plugged the cord into the implant.

"Transfer initialized," Emdee said emotionlessly. "Core data of Rockman.EXE twenty percent recovered. Forty percent recovered. Sixty percent recovered. Seventy-five percent recovered. Core data of Saito.BAT ten percent recovered. Twenty percent recovered. Twenty-five percent. Searching for remaining data."

Netto held his breath. Finally Emdee continued. "... No data found. Twenty-five percent of Saito.BAT recovered. The rest has been deleted or corrupted. Seventy-five percent core data of Rockman.EXE recovered. Transfer complete. Linking out now."

"Only twenty-five percent? What's that mean?"

"As I thought, part of his program is missing." Yuuichirou did not mention that since the Saito.BAT program had been too heavily damaged to initialize itself while Netto's body recovered, he feared the corrupted part might be the consciousness programming. It could be re-created, but not without a price. "I can reinstall data from the original program, hopefully. I'll get back to the Science Labs now and work on that."

"Papa--how long?"

"A little while, Netto. I'll hurry... you need to rest. I'll be back as soon as I can." Yuuichirou departed, leaving Netto alone with Meiru. As the doctor left, however, Dekao, Yaito, and Enzan entered. 

"Hi, guys," Netto said solemnly.

"Yo, Netto," Dekao said, trying his best to look normal. "You were sleepin' long enough."

"Yeah, well, I thought I could get out of more school, so..."

"Hikari-san told me what happened to your Navi," Enzan said matter-of-factly. "I'm sorry."

Netto didn't reply.

"So, it was that guy Saito who fought Server in the end, eh? I must say, I thought we were all dead. If it makes you feel any better, I admire his bravery."

"Papa told you everything," Netto said dully. "Brave, yes, but stupid...he got himself killed for it..."

"But how can you both have controlled your body?" Dekao asked.

"We took turns, until last week...then it was Saito-niisan all the time..." Netto found himself switching to the other name out of necessity. Saying 'Saito' instead of 'Rock' made it feel less real.

"I'll explain to you guys later," Meiru urged gently. "Let's talk about something else."

"I...really don't want to talk," Netto said finally, turning on his side. "Thanks for coming to see me..."

He couldn't quite explain it, but having his twin's consciousness just _gone_ was leaving him feeling lonely and empty. The only person he wanted to talk to at that moment was Rockman.

"We'll go," he heard Meiru say hastily, and she ushered the others out the door. "You get some sleep, Netto. I'll come by again later."

"Sure," Netto replied, pulling a pillow over his head. "Bye." When she had gone, he lifted his head and spotted his headband on the night table, along with a collection of other small objects. There was the black shirt Saito had worn. His shorts were folded neatly beside his shoes, and his roller skates lay on the floor with his backpack. 

On top of the pile were a handful of change, a torn Metrorail ticket, and a napkin from _Le Créme Parfait _ice cream shop. 

Netto's eyes blurred with tears and he turned away. Even if Rockman was reprogrammed, he still felt _alone._ The time he had shared with his brother during their recent hardship was only a memory, nothing more. Rockman would never be human again.

Netto consoled himself with the thought that things would again return to normal. He would have his Navi back; he would go back to school and Netbattle Dekao and make fun of Gutsman, and Rockman and Roll could be together again. This was real life; this was _normal._

He must have drifted off, for what seemed like a few moments later his father returned. "Netto, are you awake?"

"I'm up," the boy said quickly, forcing himself into a sitting position. "Did you bring him?"

"I did," Yuuichirou said gravely. "I combined an old backup of his Navi program with the data we collected from you. But there are things you need to know before you activate him. First, most of Saito.BAT was damaged or destroyed...so you two will no longer share your DNA link. He will be just like any other Navi now, albeit very technologically advanced."

"But...why didn't you just use a backup of Saito.BAT? Wouldn't it be the same as when he got hurt fighting World Three?"

"The program that's been inside you since Rockman was attacked by the Higurashi virus is a mix of Rockman.EXE and Saito.BAT. Installing the old backup of Saito.BAT might not just have negative effects; it might corrupt the rest of the program altogether. Rockman has evolved so much since then that the dot-bat isn't designed for him anymore. That's the other problem. Since we only have a part of the Saito programming, he might not be the same as before. There will be memory gaps, personality differences...but short of redesigning him...there's nothing that can be done. Even I can't predict what will happen with such a small amount of data."

Netto took the PET from his father and held it in his hand, watching the other programs run in the background of the screen. On the desktop screen was a single icon labeled 'Rockman.'

"Go ahead," Yuuichirou whispered softly. "Activate him."

Netto pressed a key and the icon highlighted, made a clicking noise, and a window opened. A status bar ran in the foreground. _Installing Program. Press any key to cancel._

Shortly the window disappeared and was replaced by the outline of a helmeted Navi. It briefly glowed blue, and then Rockman appeared, eyes closed. Netto sighed in relief.

Rockman opened his green eyes and smiled. "Hello. My name is Rockman, and I am your new Navi, Hikari Netto."

"New?" Netto glanced at his father. "Is that because he was reinstalled?"

"That's his default programming," Yuuichirou said slowly. "It's the first thing that I programmed into the EXE file. If he doesn't remember your first meeting, it may be that the memory component of Saito.BAT is one of the missing files." Rockman was still waiting patiently for Netto to introduce himself. Yuuchirou addressed the newly programmed Navi. "Rockman, do you recognize me?"

"You are Hikari Yuuichirou. You created my program."

"Correct. This is my son, Netto, whom you were programmed for. You were in a battle and much of your data was erased, so you had to be re-installed. Some of your memories may be missing."

"You are correct. My databanks contain much knowledge that I should not yet have, and much that I do not know the meaning of. It seems a large portion of memory data is missing."

"Is he always going to talk like that?" Netto asked, horrified.

"That is a default programming too," Yuuchirou replied. "His personality was probably part of the file Emdee wasn't able to recover. In time he'll adapt to you and begin to copy your personality, the same way he did before."

"No way!" Netto cried. "Rock and me had totally different personalities, but this one's just _weird!_"

"Netto...there's nothing I can do about that, I'm sorry..."

He sighed. "I know, Papa."

"Visiting hours are over, and I've been released, so I have to go," Yuuichirou said apologetically. "You and Rockman should talk awhile. I'll come see you in the morning, all right?"

"Fine. Good night, and thanks."

"Good night." Yuuchirou left after giving his son a hug. 

Netto waited until his father had gone before speaking. "So you don't remember...anything? About what happened to us? About being Saito-oniisan?"

Rockman looked shocked. "I am surprised you have been told about that. I was told very strictly to keep it a secret from you."

"Papa just told you that some of your memory is missing."

"Even so, it was kept from you to protect you. Revealing such details to you was an unwise decision."

"It wasn't unwise--we were saving your life!"

"My deletion is irrelevant. I am a Navi that can easily be reprogrammed, as you can see."

Netto stared in disbelief. "Yeah, and look how _that_ turned out! You're a whole different person!"

"This is my default personality progr--"

"--Shut _up_! I don't care about that; I want the old Rockman back!"

"This is the first time we've met."

Netto held back tears. "I want Saito, then."

"I am he."

"Idiot! Forget it!" Netto suddenly turned off the PET, shoving it onto the nightstand. Having that heartless parody in there was worse than having no Rockman at all!

Finally letting tears escape from his bloodshot eyes, Netto buried his face in his pillow and cried himself to sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In the morning Netto arose feeling much better, ready to face a new day. His optimistic side had won out--Rockman could easily be taught to behave like he used to, if Netto could stop himself from thinking about what he had lost. So he had formulated a Plan.

The Plan consisted of a few basic elements--Net-battle, skate around Akihara and procrastinate, spend time with his friends, and talk to Rockman until the new Navi got a feel of his surroundings. 

It was with this thought in mind that Netto snuck out of the hospital and arrived on Dekao's doorstep, PET in hand. 

Dekao answered the knock. "Netto! You're out already?"

"You knew they couldn't keep me for long!" Netto winked and held out the object in his hand. "Want to Net-battle?"

"Battle?" Dekao stared confusedly for a moment. "Wait--did you get Rockman back!?"

"Sure did." Netto grinned.

"Hello," Rockman said as though prompted by Netto's smile, "I am Rockman.EXE. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Dekao blinked. "Uh, did he get amnesia or somethin'? It's me, Dekao."

"He's been reprogrammed," Netto said quickly. "He doesn't remember some things. So I'm doing familiar stuff with him to help him out."

"That seems a useless plan," Rockman warned. "Deleted data cannot be recovered when it has been removed from the source."

Dekao and Netto both stared at the Navi.

"...However, Net-battling is what I was designed to do, so..."

"He's acting really weird," Dekao whispered.

"You're tellin' me."

"I am ready whenever you are, Netto-san."

"-_san!?_"the two boys chorused in disbelief.

"Did I say something wrong? My intent was not to offend."

"No," Netto groaned. "It's not that. It just sounded wrong. Call me Netto-kun, okay?"

"Yes, Netto-kun." 

The inflection was all wrong. Netto made a face at the Navi. "You speak really strangely. Maybe you could try not to use such formal speech."

"I was programmed for etiquette. My speech habits should be nothing less."

"But Papa said you were supposed to _adapt_."

"With time."

Dekao plugged his PET into his computer and stepped back, waiting for Netto to do the same. "Still want to?"

Netto grinned. "You know I do. Plug-in, Rockman.EXE! Transmission!"

"Plug-in, Gutsman, transmission!"

The two fighters appeared on the monitor, one big, one small. Gutsman looked thrilled. "Rockman, de gutsu! You're all right!"

"It seems we've met before." Rockman smiled faintly. 

Gutsman gave him a puzzled look. "De gutsu...?"

"Gutsman, be on your guard," Dekao instructed. "It's not the same Rockman, so he won't remember you."

"Not remember? What?"

Before either of the boys could reply, Rockman attacked, spraying Gutsman with charged blasts. "Rockbuster!"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Netto cried. "We weren't ready to start yet!"

"This is a battle, is it not?" Rockman paused to look at Netto. "Am I not supposed to win?"

"No!... Well, yeah, but not before the match begins...!"

"I see. Am I permitted to attack now?"

"Ummm..." Netto gathered a handful of battle chips. "Yeah, I'll give you a Cannon chip, all right?"

"Acceptable."

Dekao equipped Gutsman with an Ice Punch chip, and the match began. Rockman fired off a cannon shot almost immediately that caught Gutsman in the chest, easily laying him on the ground. Rockman's speed gave him the advantage in this round.

The blue Navi easily avoided the Ice Punch and began to attack with his Rockbuster once again, forcing Gutsman to scramble to his feet. "Send a chip!" he implored.

Dekao complied. "Here's a Fire Tower."

"Rockman, Spreader."

Gutsman immediately launched the Fire Tower, but the smaller Navi easily dodged it. Rockman moved behind Gutsman with blinding speed and launched the Spreader attack point-blank. It struck Gutsman in the back, dropping him to the floor. Rockman aimed his buster once again.

"Rockman, back off," Netto ordered. "This is only a practice match."

"Too much, de gutsu," Gutsman wheezed. "Sorry, Dekao."

"It's all right. Plug-out." Dekao disconnected the cord and pocketed his PET, while Netto continued to watch his own Navi.

"That's all?" Rockman complained. "I was expecting a bigger challenge."

Though he'd been holding back, Dekao's pride got the best of him. "That's because you fought dirty!"

"He's just slow," Rockman pronounced.

"Plug-out," Netto snapped, pulling the cord free. "Sorry, Dekao. His personality's not quite back to normal yet."

"I see," Dekao replied sourly. "Well, good luck, then."

Netto had the feeling that he'd worn out his welcome. "Okay, well, see you later, then. Thanks."

"Bye." 

Netto left the Oyama residence, still feeling unsettled, and headed back toward his own house, detouring at Meiru's next door. He waited on the porch and was quickly greeted by two bubbly girls who seemed excited to see him, and even more so to see Rockman. Meiru hugged him happily. "Netto! We were just on our way to see you!"

"We weren't expecting you to be up so early," Yaito said slyly. "But you've been sleeping for a week, so..."

"Rockman! Rock, is that you?" Meiru leaned over Netto's shoulder to glimpse the Navi, who raised his hand in silent greeting. "It_ is_! Roll will be so happy to see you! Come on over and see her!"

Netto had to re-bookmark Meiru's PET for Rockman to gain access, and he explained the new programming to Meiru and Yaito. "He'll be the same soon though, ne?" Yaito said confidently. "After all, that's how he turned out last time."

"I guess so, but he doesn't remember anything about me. He's like a whole new person."

Inside the PET, Glyde and Roll had come to a similar conclusion. "You're _certain _he's really Rock," Roll asked doubtfully.

"It is possible that Rockman-san would function like this after a memory wipe," Glyde said.

The urge that Roll had felt to run forward and hug him tightly had been quelled by the formal introduction. She later learned that it was the same one Rockman had stiffly presented to Dekao, Meiru and Netto himself. "Roll-san?"

Her head snapped up. "What?"

"You seem upset," Rockman said mildly.

"Aren't we a master of the obvious?" she said bitterly.

"Roll!" Meiru hissed.

For the first time since he had been activated, Rockman looked abashed. "I hadn't realized that my return would instigate such disruption. Am I that repulsive?"

"No, it's that...it's just I want the old Rockman back. I'm sure you understand that."

"I do not," he confessed. "Save for a few missing memories, I am an exact duplicate of the Rockman you knew."

"It seems to me as though part of Rockman-san's personality program is also missing." Glyde commented.

"Papa said that the personality was part of the corrupted files. When Rock restarted my heart monitor there wasn't enough room in the computer's memory to hold them both, so he was taken over and partly deleted."

"That would explain the radical change," Glyde agreed. 

"And there's nothing else your father can do?" Yaito asked.

Netto shook his head. "He says Emdee got all the data he could. He already had to use a lot of his old backups."

"I see." Roll moved closer to Glyde, keeping her eyes downcast. "I guess we'll be getting to know each other all over again, huh."

"So it seems." Even Rockman seemed flustered. 

The tension in the air was so thick that even Netto noticed it, hurriedly putting his PET away. "Well, Rock and I should go, we've got people to terrorize, hospitals to escape, et cetera...see you girls later?"

"Sure, Netto."

"Later, Hikari-kun."

"Come on, Rockman. Link out."

Rockman paused and looked Roll straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry."

"What for...?" 

The pale boy frowned. "That I'm not him. Sorry." Before she could answer, he linked out. Roll blinked back tears and turned away.

"Well," Netto said awkwardly, "I'm off. Bye." He jumped down over the steps and turned a sharp left, cutting across the Hikari lawn. The front door was locked--Mama was probably doing her shopping. Netto unlocked it and entered, shutting the door behind him again. 

Wearily the boy plodded upstairs and flopped onto his bed, letting his house slippers tumble to the floor. The plan obviously wasn't working very well.

"Is something wrong?" Rockman asked as Netto turned over to stare at the ceiling instead.

"Everything," Netto groaned. "Dekao's mad, Meiru's acting weird, and I don't even know you anymore. Why does this have to happen to me?"

"It cannot be helped. Roll-san is uncomfortable as well."

"That's because you've become a whole different _person_. You don't even seem to realize it."

"My data is easily repla--"

"--easily replaceable, yeah, I know. You seem to have totally lost the concept of being able to think for yourself."

"Navis aren't equipped to do that."

"Mine was. Roll is, Gutsman is. Why aren't you?"

"I do not know." Rockman actually looked forlorn, and Netto withdrew. It seemed this Navi's feelings could be hurt after all.

"I know you can't help it," Netto said softly. "But that doesn't make it any easier for me..."

"I'm sorry."

"I under--agh!" Netto clutched the sheets tightly as a wave of pain washed over him.

"What's wrong?" Rockman asked in alarm.

"My...chest...it hurts..."

"I knew we shouldn't have left the hospital!" Rockman moaned. "Can you stand?"

"I don't think so," Netto gasped, fighting back sudden nausea.

The Navi wrung his hands together, managing to look laughably like Glyde. "What should I do? I can't contact the hospital; the only link I have is to Roll-san."

"I think there's something wrong with my implant," Netto managed to choke out between laboured breaths. "I can't breathe. Can you...can you...plug-in?"

"I can try," Rockman said doubtfully. "Shouldn't there be medical Navis in there?"

Netto coughed, flecks of blood staining the sheets. "...Yeah."

Rockman looked even more alarmed. "I'll try it. Plug me in."

Fumbling, the teenager pulled the cloth of his shirt away and jammed the plug into the implant. He didn't have the energy to bring his PET to an angle where he could see. "Well?"

"There are Navis here, but it seems to be a computer problem," Rockman answered hesitantly. "They don't know how to fix it."

"Do you?"

"I could try. I have very advanced repair programming, and--"

"--Just..._do_ it..." Netto choked.

"Commencing. Hm... there seems to be an error in the breathing regulators. Instead of forcing you to breathe normally, they have cut off air supply. I may be able to find out more."

Netto tried to ask what he thought the source of the problem was, but he found black spots dancing in front of his eyes. No oxygen had entered his lungs in over a minute. An overwhelming sense of deja vu and panic hit him, and he blacked out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"-tto-kun."

"Mmph."

"Netto-kun?"

"Just five more minutes, Rock..."

__

"Hikari Netto!"

"What, what!" Netto rolled over and sat up, rubbing his head. "Geez, Rock, don't scare me like--uh...what the hell?"

He was back in the black room with the little light. Saito knelt before him, still wearing the black jumpsuit and a broad grin. "Welcome back to the land of the living! Er, well, dead."

Netto very slowly reached out and touched his twin's arm. "You're going to either tell me that I'm dead or dreaming."

"Can't help you there," the ex-Navi said with a shrug. "I have no idea where we are. I've been sitting here in the dark for days."

"But...but it's really you!" Netto threw his arms around his brother. "I thought you were deleted! Please tell me that everything that's happened today was a dream!"

"Well, what happened today? I'm guessing _you_ weren't stuck here in limbo or I would have found you long ago."

"I was in the hospital for a week recovering, and then Papa reprogrammed you."

"He what!?"

"He made another Navi that was supposed to be just like you," Netto explained. "But he's an idiot! He's not like you at all! How can I get you back?"

"Netto-kun...I don't even know where we _are_... and I certainly haven't been able to get out of here. Just how did you get back here anyway?"

"I had trouble breathing and I plugged in the new Rockman, but then I passed out. But this means we're still linked!" Netto said happily. "And there's a normal-you here; I just have to take you out of here with me!"

"That supports the theory I'd been thinking... Well, I've essentially determined that this must be some state of consciousness we share. I can't think of any other way for physical forms to manifest themselves like this--"

"Hell, don't start talking like _him_!"

"Huh?"

"Never mind..." Netto took Saito by the hand and started walking forward. "Come on, let's find a way out of here."

"Netto-kun...I already said what I think this is...I think maybe we might be inside the computer."

Netto stopped abruptly. "Wait, even me?"

Their chocolate-brown eyes met. "I exist only in the computer systems here. Since those systems are wired directly to your brain, I thought maybe the reason we could communicate like this was because we're both in a similar state of consciousness."

"What?"

Saito cupped his chin in his hand. "Well, the only time when we've met like this is when we're both out cold, right? When my program has retreated to recover, and you're unconscious. Ne?"

Netto bit his lip. "Yeah, you're right..."

"Maybe the computer's creating some sort of a vision or a dream for our unconscious minds. Since we're so closely linked they'd have to be the same thing."

"Wait, okay, I get the whole vision-dream-thingy. Does this mean we're _not _dead?"

Saito blinked. "I suppose not, unless you're dying right now from lack of oxygen..."

"Is that the same thing that happened to the computers before? When Server tried to drown me?"

"Yeah, it is. Only, this time... I think the problem is me. The security systems I wired into your computer when I was occupying it is interfering with its operation now, because I'm not there to control it anymore. I guess since I rewrote that programming myself, the medical systems don't recognize it. But this is essentially the same thing that happened before."

Netto grinned broadly. "Well, can you do what you did then? Jump-start the system?"

"I'm not sure," Saito confessed. "When I finally got my program up and running I was too weak to access anything. Now I can, but there's a _lot _of my data missing from the system. It's just...gone."

"That must be what Papa took out to make the new Navi!"

"If Father removed it, that would explain why most of my links are gone. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of me left in here. Just consciousness, and some threads to the computer systems I can't reach any more."

"That's what the other Rockman is missing," Netto said gravely. "We need to find a way to get you back together."

"Why do I not feel totally comfortable with the concept of merging with some pseudo-Navi you just told me was an idiot?"

"Aw, come on, Rock--"

"What the--?" Saito stopped suddenly and tilted his head, looking up into the blackness. "There's an intruder in the computer system. I don't know what it is, but I can't force it out when my own systems are so low."

"That's got to be the other Navi!" Netto said excitedly. "Can you contact him?"

"I can try. He seems to be flushing the system, which is what I did to restart your breathing last time..." Saito paused. "I don't have enough memory left to make a comprehensible message, though. And I think you're waking up."

Netto had noticed as well that the room was starting to spin, and he felt the same lazy pull he had before. He hugged Saito again, tightly. "I'll find a way to get you out of here, Niisan. Somehow."

"I trust you." Saito smiled. "Good luck."

The twins broke their embrace and the latter swayed, sinking through the floor as though it were made of blue fluorescent tar.

Netto awoke to a haze of pain, but he was happy he was waking up at all. He immediately grabbed for his PET. "Rockman!"

"You're all right," the Navi said in relief. "I wasn't sure I was able to do anything in time."

"I had some help," Netto replied grimly. "Stay in the computer systems--did a part of the system hail you not too long ago?"

"I got a message from the computer security system, but it only analyzed me and left me alone."

Netto sighed. "I need you to access that security system and download it."

"The entire system?" the Navi asked in shock.

"You'll know when you see it. Try to access it first."

"All right."

Netto peered closely at the screen, where Rockman was wired into the computer database. After a few moments of searching, the Navi made a face.

"What is it?"

"There's unfamiliar data clusters here. They're integrated with the security, but they're not like any other system I've seen before. Might be virii."

"Can you communicate?"

"Uhm...well, it definitely has some sentience programming, since it's hailing back, but it doesn't seem to have the capacity to communicate."

__

That's him. "Download it into your own program."

"The _virus?_" Rockman asked in horror. 

"Trust me! Do it!"

Rockman turned and met Netto's eyes. "I'm programmed to do what I am told by my Operator. I think this is highly dangerous and could damage or delete me or parts of your biomechanical systems. I do not understand what we could gain from this. However ... I feel I can trust you..."

Netto smiled weakly.

"If I am deleted, then I shall say now that I am glad I could help you, Netto-kun. It seems to me that you are in a lot of pain right now, and not just physically."

Netto didn't know what to say. "Rockman..."

The blue Navi smiled slightly. "Transferring data clusters now." His eyes fell closed and then he lost all function, frozen where he stood. The PET gave off a beep of warning.

Hurriedly Netto disconnected it from his monitor and forced himself into a sitting position on the bed, watching the Navi's status bars plummet and climb. Twice he received 'Error--Program corrupted' messages from the diagnostic systems, but the Navi seemed to be successfully repairing the damage it had received. 

Only when the bars had stabilized at a medium level did Netto stop to inspect his own damage. He was breathing normally again, meaning that at least one of the Rockmans had managed to shut down or repair the malfunctioning system. He still felt dizzy and weak, but he was all right.

The PET beeped for his attention.

Netto grabbed it, thankful to see that the Navi had opened his eyes and was busily attempting to set the status bars back to green. "Rockman, are you okay?"

"There seems to be some interference--" he said confusedly, lifting his hand to his head in a humanlike gesture. "Whatever was in those data packets has re-installed itself in my program and is making normal function extremely difficult. Some systems have been corrupted."

__

Still the new one. Now I've really done it, he thought bitterly._ I should have had him copy Rockman's files and let Papa handle it. If he's gone for good, it's my fault._

Rockman was still working with the status bars, seemingly tweaking a string of programming codes. "The foreign program--it does seem to be a virus of some sort--is vying for dominance with some of my default programming. I will attempt to override, but it appears to be more powerful than me."

The blue Navi entered another code and was immediately shot through with sparks, crying out in pain and falling to his knees. "Rockman! Are you okay?"

"Ita...Yeah... yeah, I'm all right... it's that weird default program overlapping with mine. I think I've got it under control now." One of the status bars went up to green. "All right, I got it! Remind me never to do _that_ again."

Something in his voice made Netto hesitate. "Wait... Rockman... has any of your core programming been disrupted by that download?"

"Maaaaybe..."

Netto almost imagined he felt his heart stopping again. "I _know _there's no way you could have developed a personality or a sense of humor in the last thirty seconds."

"Well, I've been learning from the master for years, Netto-otoutochan*..." Rockman turned from the coding to grin at him.

"_Rock_!" Netto continued to gape at the screen. "Saito? Is it really you this time?"

"Providing your 'new' Navi didn't leave any data behind, it should all be me this time." the blue-haired twin winked. "Sorry I took so long--I had to remap a lot of things to get control over the default program. I don't understand how something with no personality could be so stubborn. Aw, Netto-kun! Don't get upset!" He grinned broadly, but Netto could see something intense in his green eyes. "You're the genki one, not me!"

"I guess we've both gotten a lot of practice at role-reversal lately," Netto joked, his voice thick with emotion. He fell back against the pillows of the bed, too weak to sit up any longer.

"No kidding... I think I'll appreciate what I have in here more from now on." Rockman smiled. "I can't wait to see Roll-chan and Gutsman again."

"And I'll feel much better knowing that I don't have to worry about someone else literally putting words in my mouth..."

"Hey." Rockman cast his twin a rueful glance. "As long as you don't complain when you don't want to do something and you can't just say, 'Saito-niisan, pretend to be me today!'"

"My computer systems are at your disposal." Netto patted his chest.

"I'll take you up on that sometime. I never did get to learn how to roller-skate."

"Any time," Netto whispered, holding the PET close to him in a pseudo-hug. "Any time at all."

"Netto-kun...." The twins shared a moment of silence, bright green eyes meeting deep brown. Despite their differences in looks, lifestyle and personality, Rockman still felt that he knew his brother so well that they didn't even have to speak the words they were both thinking. Netto laid one hand over his heart and closed his eyes, imagining the sound of their two hearts beating together, the sound of two voices speaking in unison. One brash, abrasive, quick to snap--the other soft and melodious.

Netto was the one to finally speak the words. "Welcome home, brother."

------------------------------------------

Shi-chan: Epilogue to follow, I hope...thanks again to Gaia!!!

*Rock has never actually called Netto 'otouto,' most people don't use the word like like that. It means 'little brother.' Rock always says 'Netto-kun' - he only used 'otoutochan' here to hint that he was back to himself. :) 


	15. Hikari

Rockman.EXE is not mine. Don't sue.   
________________________  
  
Us After This  
Epilogue  
_~by Shimegami-chan_  
  
Author's Note, January 4, 2003: This is the final chronicle of the tale. I hope everyone enjoyed it - there have been few stories I enjoyed writing as much as this one. Some Author's Notes and thank-yous to follow.  
  
As of the writing of this epilogue, the entire story has been through a final edit, for both continuity, typos and "things that I just didn't like and wanted to re-do." If you spot any errors please drop me an e-mail, duoxheero@dragonball-gt.zzn.com.  
  
It's been awesome--thanks so much for your support. :)  
________________________  
  
  
  


_________________________________________  
  
_Quietly,  
Stand in the exit way,  
And, in the pitch-black, take the light...  
It`s not necessary to make it to the end, keep going.  
It`s all right if the scenes  
Go on one at a time..._  
~Hikari,_ Utada Hikaru  
_ _________________________________________  


  
  
  
The sun was bright and clear above Akihara, a new day for two boys that had been presented with a fresh start.   
  
Hikari Saito was learning to rollerblade.   
  
Upon these children had been conferred a living dream; a second chance. Both had touched death, one more so than any soul should ever have, and returned together.   
  
Saito's lessons were the first of many things on a list that his twin brother had made. Most of the options had been accumulated over a long friendship -- different foods they thought he would enjoy, games, sports, and so on. Skating, in their initial excitement at being together again, had been an obvious first choice.   
  
"Okay!" Saito cried, throwing his arms out for balance. "I think I've got it!"   
  
"Great!" Netto replied enthusiastically. "I knew you'd be good at this!"   
  
Saito grinned, buoyed by his twin's encouragement. Both Hikaris had an innate sense of balance and natural skill that Saito had been anle to enjoy both as a human and a Navi. "I love this, it's amazing."   
  
"Glad you're enjoying it." Netto's cheer was quelled just slightly by a question he had been meaning to ask his twin. When Saito finally rolled to a stop and tipped his head back to ajdust their bandanna, Netto wondered idly, "Rock...are you happy?"   
  
The question threw his twin for a loop. "What do you mean?"   
  
"I mean, is this what you want? Being human? What makes you happy?"   
  
"Netto-kun..." Saito wasn't used to the brunette delving into such deep thoughts. "I liked being human, and I like being a Navi. I'm glad to just have had the experience."   
  
"Yes, but don't you feel things differently as a Navi...? You wouldn't want to stay here forever?"   
  
The older twin was quiet. "I was born in this world, but raised in the Net. That's my home now...there are a lot of things I'd like to do, but sometimes you have to make a choice. I'm fine just to visit this world every now and again. I'm _content._"   
  
He skated in a lazy circle and was just about to attempt some sort of fancy spin but stopped short at the appearance of a grim-looking nurse. "Netto-kun..."   
  
"Suzuki-san! Er, yes?" Netto piped up, unable to wipe the guilty grin from their face.   
  
The nurse sighed. "You're supposed to stay in a wheelchair when you're outside. You _know_ that! And you shouldn't be exerting yourself after being so sick!"   
  
A ripple of disappointment shooting through them both, Saito sulkily withdrew. "But I'm going home today," Netto argued. "How's now any different from this afternoon?"   
  
"You're still under our care," she replied sternly. "When your parents come for you you can do whatever you like."   
  
"Che. Fine, I'm going in..." Netto wanted to voice aloud how easy it would be to simply walk outside, hop on the Metroline, and go home by himself, but he suspected that (although Rockman would find it hilarious) the nurse wouldn't appreciate it. He settled for simply grinning at her, a gesture she felt slightly unnerving.   
  
Suzuki pushed a lock of blond hair behind her ear and sighed. It wasn't the first time someone had found Hikari Netto out of his room and wandering around the hospital. And that _smile_ of his...   
  
She followed the teenager back to his room, watching him carefully. There was something strange about Netto, something she couldn't pinpoint...He often and rapidly switched gears, his moods changing in an instant. His voice dropped suddenly, becoming low and sweet, even when the expression on his face was an almost-manic grin. Some of the other nurses whispered that he sometimes talked to himself when he thought he was alone.   
  
Suzuki suspected multiple personalities, but he had never been tested for any such thing. The others thought it was a result of the extreme trauma the boy had gone through, and he had simply thought of an imaginary friend to talk to and keep him safe.   
  
Often, though, he acted perfectly normal...he would plug his PET into the jacks at the hospital recreation room, and play video games while his Navi perused the Net. Sometimes he would just lie quietly in his hospital bed and talk to the Navi, whose name, Suzuki understood, was Rock.   
  
And _then_, just as she had decided the kid was normal after all, someone would catch him arguing with his imaginary friend, fiddling with the controls on his heart monitor, or disappearing from his room.   
  
Suzuki felt that things would be much calmer when Hikari Netto went home.   
  
The nurse shooed Netto into his room, and he dropped the unnerving grin and immediately went over to the window. "Hey, Suzuki-san!"   
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Can I go down to the rec room?"   
  
Well, if he wasn't going to run off again... "Don't overexert yourself."   
  
"Okay!"   
  
She looked at him expectantly, and suddenly he smiled a weary smile. "Thank you."   
  
"Er...you're welcome." Unsettled, she backed out of the room and fled back to the nurses' station. _That kid..._   
  
  
  
  
"I think you scared her."   
  
"I was just thanking her..."   
  
"Che, you're too formal." Netto yawned and took out his PET. "So, did you want to go on the Net?"   
  
Saito shivered, rubbing their arms a bit. "Sure. I think I've had my fun."   
  
"'Kay. Log-out."   
  
Saito released control of the computer and linked out of Netto's body and back to his PET, leaving his twin standing alone by the window. The jumpsuited Navi stretched on the screen. "That still feels weird."   
  
"Not half as weird as it feels for me," Netto joked. "Did you enable the security systems before you left?"   
  
"I did," Rockman confirmed. "No one can get into those networks but me." Now that all the raw data had been removed, the heart monitor was being used for its original purpose again. The systems Saito had mapped during his time there were still intact however, and the Navi could access them at anytime and integrate himself into the computer as before by simply plugging-in.   
  
"Good." Netto smiled faintly. "Let's go to the recreation room, then, and--" He was cut off by a ringing sound from his PET.   
  
"It's an e-mail, Netto-kun," Rockman told his brother. "Looks like I got back just in time."   
  
"Okay, open it, then."   
  
Hikari Yuuichirou's face appeared on the icon, and Rockman read aloud. "Netto, we're coming over to pick you up now. Get all your things together, all right? From Papa."   
  
"Now? All right!" Netto ran to his bedside and picked up his backpack, tossing in pajamas, skates and the other items on the bedside table.   
  
"Netto-kun, how are we planning to explain me...?"   
  
"Well, Mama'd probably have a heart attack if she knew the _whole_ story...Papa said he only told her a few things when I was unconscious. I don't know if he told her you were me all that time...but, if we're gonna do this often she should know..."   
  
"And I'm going to have to tell Papa how we got me out of the computer."   
  
"Yeah, last he saw of you, that weird default program was in control...   
  
Rockman hesitated. "Maybe I should tell them through you, then, if..." He sounded as though he were nervous to suggest it.   
  
"Is that a suggestion or a request? Come on, Rock, I said you could come in here anytime. Actually, it'll be easier to believe that way. Just don't stop talking all of a sudden and expect me to save you."   
  
"I wouldn't!" Rockman defended himself weakly, an unmistakable grin on his face.   
  
Netto extended the PET cord, lifted up his shirt, and plugged it into the panel on his chest. "Plug-in...Rockman.EXE, transmission!"   
  
Rockman linked out of the PET and settled in the computer systems, the networks now so familiar to him that his apprehension melted away. "Ready," he said in Netto's voice.   
  
Netto smiled and zipped the bag shut, laying his PET on the bed. "Now, I hope you have some sort of a plan in mind, because I--"   
  
"--Netto!" The younger twin turned as his mother flew through the door, enfolding him in a tight hug. "I'm so glad to see you up and about!"   
  
"Mama!" Netto hugged her back, nodding to his father as he entered behind her.   
  
"Ready to go home, are we?" Yuuichirou joked.   
  
"Definitely," Netto groaned. "I'm so sick of this hospital!"   
  
He slung his backpack over his shoulder and picked up the PET off the bed, realizing too late that he should have carried it in his bag. His father smiled. "Oh, Netto! How's Rockman doing? Is he starting to adapt to your personality yet?"   
  
"Uhhh..."   
  
"Is something else wrong with Rockman?" Haruka looked between her husband and son. "Nobody said anything about it."   
  
"Er, that is..."   
  
"That's your cue," Netto told his twin.   
  
"Right..." Saito cleared his throat, not bothering to disguise the change in intonation between their voices. "Well, we were able to retrieve the lost personality data, actually..."   
  
"Personality data?"   
  
"I explained already that he was destroyed by a virus, Mama, but I didn't mention that I reprogrammed him using only partial backups...some of his data was corrupted." Yuuichirou chose his words carefully.   
  
"It was integrated into my heart monitor," Saito interrupted, tapping his chest. "After the virus destroyed--" Saito took a deep breath, trying to avoid referring to himself in the third-person."--the Navi program, it got mistakenly stored in this computer."   
  
Yuuichirou gave Saito a strange look, as if wondering why he was explaining _that_ part of the story. "Yes...I told her about Rockman's data being stranded in there. But...You were able to retrieve the personality program? How? Emdee said he got everything that was in there."   
  
"He didn't know where to look. The monitor stopped working," Saito confessed. "We had to plug the new Rockman into it to find the problem...all the security systems I'd put in were interfering with the monitor's operation. Those systems were directly linked to the missing data. It was so deep in the system that it was barely recognizable."   
  
Yuuichirou looked surprised. "You got all of it back? Then, Rock is back to normal?"   
  
"I wouldn't say 'normal'," Netto uttered, his first words since Saito had taken over.   
  
"The new Rockman disabled the security systems--" Saito was still loathe to think of the default-programmed Navi as 'himself' "--and downloaded the data. And...we were able to keep all the biomechanical networks open."   
  
"What use would you have for those?" Yuuchirou held out his hand for Netto's PET. "Here, let me talk to Rockman."   
  
The elder twin sighed and handed the PET to his father. "You already are."   
  
Yuuichirou took the device and regarded the blank screen, realization setting in. "Wait--the biomechanical...?" He looked up, locking eyes with his sons. "You're still in there?"   
  
Saito nodded slowly. "We both are."   
  
"He's only borrowing it for a while, though," Netto explained. "There's so much he could do with a human body that he couldn't with a Navi's."   
  
"Oh my God." Haruka raised her hands to her mouth, finally realizing what had happened. "Rock...?"   
  
Saito blushed. "Yes, Mama."   
  
"Two of you--you're both okay! Oh, I'm so happy!" She gathered him into another tight hug, and Saito sighed in relief.   
  
"I'm proud of you," Yuuichirou said simply, joining his wife in the embrace.   
  
Saito smiled widely. "Thanks...I...I'm glad..." He sunk into her arms, breathing the scent of her perfume.   
  
Netto fell silent, content to watch the scene from the eyes they shared. This was his brother's moment now, and that made him happy. Netto realized with a start that this must have been one of the most exciting things that had ever happened to the Navi. To walk among the people he could only watch longingly for years...   
  
Now that the gift was being given freely, Netto was only too happy to provide. Rock had saved them all, had saved him over and over again. He _had_ this life because of Saito. It was only fair that he share it.   
  
Suddenly choked with emotion, Netto whispered his thoughts aloud. "Rock...Saito-niisan...thank you..."   
  
"Me? I should be thanking you." Saito pulled back a bit with a smile, unfamiliar emotion flooding through him. "For letting me...have all this..."   
  
"It's happiness," Netto said suddenly, as Saito was raising a hand to brush back his bangs.   
  
"What?" Saito looked up.   
  
"That emotion. You're almost crying, 'big' brother." Netto grinned inside himself, the expression mirroring the one his twin wore.   
  
Saito laughed and swiped a hand across his eyes, suddenly handing control of their movement back to the younger boy. "Netto-kun, I am not!"   
  
"Whatever you say!" Netto smirked and glanced over at the mirror on the bedside table, catching sight of himself and his parents in the glass. Maybe like this, they could both be happy. "We made our choices, Niisan. But you're welcome here," he laid one hand over his heart, "anytime. Not as Operator and Navi, but siblings."   
  
The youngest Hikari recalled something Saito had said to him during the battle with Gospel. "_Remember? We were once the same person. And then we were brothers..."_   
  
"You were right," he whispered aloud. "This is what we both want."   
  
_"...and more than that...friends."_   
  
  
  
  
  
-----------------------------  
  
Shi: Hours of torment later, it's finished. I swear, I must have gone through every sappy song on my playlist ten times by the time I got those last five lines out.   
  
I have--big surprise--a few people to thank here, and a few things to say. Obviously, the gang from the WPP classroom, first and foremost Gaia-chan and her muses, who edited this monster of a fic, put up with my constant spamming of it, and was just generally there when I needed someone. :) Also way up there are Cyber and Goldenrody, who actually read this thing and supported me with reviews. Thanks for the help, you guys tolerated the floods too, not to mention supplied me with tons of inspiring music. ^_~ (Large sections were written only while listening to _Ready Go!_ and _Heartbreak Every Moment._) Pin, you're reading chapter 4 or 5 right now, I know, so you get a mention (but not a pic :P). Thanks for your support.   
  
Marisa, I spent hours listening to _Hikari_ and _Simple and Clean_ on repeat while writing this epilogue. (It's still on. -.-) I know we used a quote from it for 'This Is Your Life,' as well, but I couldn't think of any song more fitting. Thank you, and Aria, you too, for your comments and for just being there. :)   
  
Some fanart was drawn too, one from Lizeth and one by SpicyMarmalade. I really appreciate that, guys, great for inspiration and nice eye-candy too. :P Beautiful job, thank you so much. *glomps*   
  
To the reviewers - you keep me going. (Sometimes I swear the reviews are the *only* thing that keep me going.) I couldn't possibly name you all, but some kept coming back chapter after chapter with comments. Misty, Lizeth, Cyber, Goldy, TFRiD Queen, Navi-Zero, Aria, Marisa, and more... I appreciate it, I really do. Thanks a million.   
  
Seki - You had to hit me with inspiration all the way up to the last chapter, didn't you? Maybe G's to blame. Someday we'll just set you two loose and see what kind of havoc you can make into a fanfic.  
Seki: I thought you could do it on your own this time around.  
Shi: Che, I bet you were out with Duo again...  
Seki: Yeah, well, where were YOU during that unfinished Christmas fic?  
Shi: Shut up...I don't want to talk about that... -.-  
  
Please, feel free to e-mail me with any comments, or just click that 'submit review' button down there. This is the closing act, guys...I want to know what you thought. At 26000 words I broke a few personal records. :) I can safely say that this fic brought out a side of my imagination I hadn't seen since _Death Becomes Him,_ and it would take something impressive to see another that I enjoyed writing as much as this.   
Finally, to all the readers who made it all the way through...thank you so much.   
  
  
  
_curtainfall_   
  
~owari 


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